Senran Kagura: Love and Acceptance
by MaximalCatPossible
Summary: New trials and hardships are a part of life, but none as hard as when Asuka met a boy named Kemono. Harder than any trial she's ever faced, Asuka must teach this boy to fight, love, and defeat an enemy straight from the depths of the Underworld. However, this new character is anything but a ninja. Can she really teach him to battle, as well as open his heart up to someone?
1. Chapter 1: Prelude

Asuka held onto the helicopter by one arm as they soared away from the burning wreckage. The thick smoke poked at her eyes, and her grip began to weaken from the smoke inhalation. She couldn't use her other arm to grab onto the helicopter's leg, for it held onto her companion, Kemono. The boy was much bigger and heavier than her. To only add more weight, that demon Maō gripped onto Kemono's leg with inense pressure. Kemono grunted from the pain brought to his already bleeding leg. From the helicopter, her sensei and senior, Kiriya and Daidoji.

"NO! I WILL NOT BE DENIED MY CONQUEST BY YOU HUMANS", Maō roared.

"Hang on Kemono", Asuka yelled, but also coughed.

Kemono watched through squinted eyes as the ninja fought to hang on. She couldn't stop coughing from the dense fire's ashes. Sudden flashes of memories went through Kemono's mind. All were focused on Asuka. From him first introducing himself to the Hanzo Ninja, to her giggling at how he slipped on a water pale and it ended up on his head, to the time he beat her at a game of poker, and as simply as when she grabbed his hand and joyfully pulled him to school so they wouldn't be late. Why was he remembering all of these things now?

They didn't match up with anything. These memories were happy, and peaceful. Looking at their situation, and what was happening, this was far from happy or peaceful. Then it struck him. If they didn't make it out of this, or if they didn't stop Maō here, there would be no more happy or peaceful times. Kemono tried to come up with a plan. However, he was never a great planner. With nothing left to try, Kemono put on a determined face as only one solution came to mind.

"Asuka, you gotta let me go", Kemono told her.

"What", Asuka asked. "NO!"

"Asuka, this is the only way we can make it out of this! Maō can't be allowed to escape", Kemono told her.

"Just hang on Kemono! We'll get you to safety", Asuka told Kemono. "We'll make it to safety, and we'll stop Maō together!"

Kemono knew deep down that she wouldn't last long enough for them to make it to safety. Her grip was already weakening, and Maō didn't show any signs of letting go. The boy looked to the demon at his feet. He gave Kemono that, "You Will Die", kinda look. As Kemono stared back at Asuka, she had that, "I Won't Give Up', kinda look.

"Asuka, you don't have to save me this time", He told Asuka.

"No, I have to", Said Asuka. "I promised myself that I would!"

"Asuka...You already did."

All reality seemed to decrease its speed to super slow motion. The spiraling of the helicopter propellers, the breezing wind, the jumbling smoke, it all slowed down as Asuka and Kemono locked eyes.

"You already saved me Asuka", Kemono told the kunoichi. "You gave me a home, you gave me friends, and you gave me love. That's more than I deserve Asuka."

Asuka began to well up with tears hearing Kemono spill out his entire heart to her. He grunted a bit as Maō's grip tightened around his leg.

"I never dreamed that I would meet a girl like you Asuka. It's like you were an angel sent down from heaven just for me", Kemono said as one tear shed from his eye. "But there are other people who need you more than me."

"No...Please don't...", Asuka pleaded, knowing very well what Kemono was going to do.

"Kemono continued, "There's other people who deserve you more than me. And you deserve someone better Asuka. You deserve an angel too. I would have liked that person to be me Asuka."

"Please...Don't Kemono...", Asuka sniffled.

"Don't cry Asuka, you know how reckless I am", Kemono tried to joke to ease up the agonizing sadness they both felt. "I'm all speed and no brain, I'm a hazard to your health. I'm not meant to be a ninja, or an angel. Just keep looking...You'll find your angel...Just...Just...Carry on my wayward."

In one swift moment, Kemono tossed himself from Asuka's grip. She scrambled to reach for him again, but Kemono was already out of her reach.

"NO I WILL NOT GO BACK TO THE UNDERWORLD", Maō protested.

All shouts from the demon king were ignored as both he and the boy fell back into the burning temple. Asuka watched, still in slow motion as they grew farther and farther from her reach.

"NOOOOO", Asuka shouted.

Without thinking, Asuka did the most stupid thing she could do. She let go of the helicopter. Just as she was about to throw her life out the window, a thick rope wrapped around her waist. The rope came from her senior Daidoji.

"What are you doing you fool", Daidoji shouted as her and Kiriya sensei pulled Asuka into the safety of the helicopter.

"KEMONO", She called as she watched him fall into the inferno.

Kemono, in his own vision, was saddened that he had to leave Asuka, but he was happy that Maō would be stopped, and happy that Asuka would be safe. With a small smile, and one last tear from the other eye, Kemono shaped his fingers and his thumbs into the form of a heart. He tapped it three times against the right side of his chest. Asuka didn't need a translator to know what he was telling her. That was the last she saw of Kemono before he disappeared into the flames, and the before tears completely flooded her eyes.

"KEMONOOOOO", Asuka shouted into the burning night.

* * *

**Hello everyone, I know I said I wouldn't start on a new fic until I finished my Love Hina one, but I came across this anime and absolutely fell in love with it! for all of you that know Senran Kagura, I know what you're thinking! But let me explain! I didn't necessarily start liking it because of the pervertness, or the lack of clothes. I actually got into it because of the ninjas. In case I haven't mentioned it, or if you haven't picked up on it yet, to me ninjas, ARE FUCKING BADASS! If I was anything in a previous reincarnated life or something, I would have been a ninja. Anyways, back to the topic of Senran Kagura.**

**Besides the fact of them being ninja's, I adored how cheery and upbeat the characters are. Even if the story seemed kinda rushed, I ended up watching all the episode in just three days. When I went to good ol' fanfiction to see what there was to read, I was disappointed to see very few fics about Senran Kagura. And that's how I ended up here. For those of you that have read some of my previous fics, I write better with OCs involved. And I KNOW, an OC paired with a main character seems pretty cliché and unimaginative. However, I have big plans for them.**

**My sister, "AnimeBabe33.1", has recently got me into the Supernatural Fandom. I've only seen a few episodes and...It's Pretty Sad and Fucked Up...But That's What Makes It So Good! All you Supers know exactly what I'm talking about. It's one of those shows that hits you right in the feels. The reason I brought this up is to preview what kind of emotions you're gonna be feeling (Or at least what I'm aiming for), as you read some of these chapters. I know I didn't explain a lot, or write much in this prelude, but I hope I put enough to get some people interested.  
**

**If you're willing to stay for at least a few chapters, I know I can make my OC a likable character. Hopefully with my OC character, I can write something that involves both love, acceptance, hardship, and sadness. WHY?! CAUSE I'M JUST THAT DAMN EVIL...And because I'm watching Supernatural with my sister. I hope you all stay and watch as I write on. If you don't like this one, I hope that you read some of my other fics then. But more than anything, I encourage you to read my sister's Supernatural fic, "Love at the Hampton Inn Hotel". Take care everyone.**


	2. Chapter 2: The Boy Who Ran

It was a beautiful morning to start another day gifted to all who existed. As always, school at Hanzo Academy went on as usual. The last one to arrive to her classes, was Asuka. She was a cute girl, known for her charming looks, and her peppy personality. But underneath it all, known only by a handful, Asuka was one of the most well-trained, and well-rounded ninja of the Secret Hanzo Academy. Looking at her, you never would have guess she was a ninja. She was cheerful, kind, and bubbly to say in the least. Yet, she was also a focused, and determined person, and that alone is enough to make anyone into a ninja.

Asuka huffed and puffed as she dashed for her private meeting place with the rest of her shinobi triage. No sooner had she run through the door was she greeted by her daily groping by Katsugari.

"Well good morning Asuka", Katsugari said as she continued to fondle Asuka's breast.

"Katsugari, stop it", Asuka protested. "My breast aren't a toy."

"Oh but they're sooo soft", Said her perverted blonde friend.

"Katsuragi, that's enough", Ikaruga warned to keep stability in the room. "You shouldn't be sexually harassing people. Especially so early in the morning."

Katsuragi pouted as she let go of Asuka. In the room, it was only the three of them. It was a Flex Day today, and school wouldn't start for another hour. However, Felx Day or not, school always began at 8:00 sharp by Kiriya Sensei's order. Within the last two minutes, right before eight o'clock, the last of their classmates, Yagyuu, and Hibari arrived.

"Good morning everyone", Hibari cheerfully waved.

"Good morning Hibari, Yagyuu", Asuka was the first to respond back.

The entire kunoichi force of Hanzo Academy had now arrived. From Asuka, to Ikaruga, to Katsuragi, Yagyu, and Hibari, they were all assembled. No sooner when Hibari and Yagyuu had taken a seat, did Kiriya appear with his trademark smoke screen.

"Good morning everyone", Said Kiriya. "I hope you're all well."

"Yes", Yagyu responded. "What are our lessons going to be about today Sensei?"

"Today we are not learning any new lessons", Said Kiriya. "I want to warn you about something."

"Warn us about something", Asked Hibari."

"Yes. As you all know, we are not the only ninja school. Hanzo academy is amongst the few remaining schools that teach ninpo, and the ways of the ninja. However, there are rumors about someone, exploiting these school's locations."

"They're telling people about where other ninja schools are", Asked Ikaruga.

"Yes. Who and why they are doing so, I don't know. Asuka's grandfather, Hanzo, will arrive shortly and explain more details to us", Kiriya told them.

"Grandpa is going to visit", Asuka questioned. "Is it really that bad that grandfather needs to get involved?"

"Apparently", Said Kiriya. "For now, we'll remain on alert until Hanzo arrives. In the mean time, there is no cass, and no lessons for today. Wait in your rooms and be rady for when I call for all of you."

The girls looked back and forth between one another. This was most unusual for them, as Kiriya was never one to skipp out on lessons or training.

* * *

As ordered, each of them took for their rooms.

"People revealing the secret location of different ninja schools? Hmmm?"

Asuka was still thinking about what her sensei said.

"Maybe grandpa will have more answers when he shows up", Asuka concluded.

She continued on with one hand on her elbow, and the other holding her chin. Despite not paying much attention to her surroundings, Asuka knew the building by heart. Each room was set in a different part of the building, as in case of a break in when everyone was asleep, they wouldn't be taken down in one swoop. Asuka's room was just around the corner. She didn't really think there would be any trouble on her way there. Oh how wrong she was.

Asuka froze in her tracks as she turned around the corner's bend. Just ahead was a boy, somewhere around her age, but somewhere around Kiriya's height. He had brown ruffly hair, and stared back at her with shocked brown eyes. His outfit was that of a Hanzo Academy student, so that explain his clothes appearance. However, it did not explain why he was leaningagainst the wall, as if he was sneaking about in their secret shinobi hideout.

For what felt like the longest time in history, Asuka and the boy stared down one another. They felt like a deer looking through car headlights. Just as the boy brought on hand up and began to back away, Asuka instinctively sounded the alarm. On the wall next to her, was a switch, used for either a break in, a fire, or some other emergency. Hitting the button, the lights flashed red, and an ear-piercing alarm rang throughout the building.

"INTRUDER! THERE'S AN INTRUDER", Asuka shouted.

"No-No-No Wait", He tried to reason with Asuka.

Once the inturder's ear caught the sounds of the other kunoichi approaching, he waisting no time at all. The boy ran for his very life. He bolted down the hallway in the opposite direction Asuka appeared.

"Come back here", Asuka ordered.

* * *

Still in pursuit of the intruder, Asuka dashed through the halls with speed only a ninja could accomplish. However, she was still far behind her target. He was leaving her behind in the dust.

"_How can he move so fast_", Asuka thought. _"Is he a ninja too?_"

Asuka didn't have tine to deduct what he was exactly. For her target was getting closer and closer to the exit. With one more corner to zoom past, the exit was just up ahead.

"The exit", the boy shouted. "So long sucker!"

The moment he would have been out the door, the boy smacked face first into an illusion barrier like some bad joked Looney Tune scene. Asuka watched as he stumbled back and landed flat on his back. His eyes were swirl marks and there was a red mark on his forehead where he hit the barrier.

"I think I hit an invisible door", The boy said thinking he was hallucinating.

It was at that moment, Ikaruga, Hibari, Yagyu, and Katsuragi showed up.

"Asuka, what happened", Ikaruga asked.

"We have an intruder", Asuka pointed to the downed boy.

His back was turned to them as he rubbed the hurt spot on his forehead. Pausing a moment, the boy slowly turned around and looked to the girls. There was a killer intended aura surrounding the girls. It was bad enough he was an intruder, but he was a male intruder, sneaking into a young female ninja hideout.

Only one word ran through his head, and that word was "RUN! Before any interrogation or beating could begin, the boy ran in a mad dash the other way.

"Hey, where are you going", Katsuragi yelled as she pursued him. "You're not gonna escape!"

"Just watch me", The boy called back.

* * *

This chase lead on for a good ten minutes, starting from the bottom floor, leading to the bathroom, and even going through the kitchen. The kunoichi decided it was better to split in different directions and try to corner him somehow. Hibari looked in her room, just to be sure he wasn't in there. Seeing nothing, Hibari left to continue her search. What she didn't know was that he was there all along. Stashed in a big pile of her plushie rabbits and animals, the intruder emerged from the pile of toys and ran out.

* * *

Ikaruga's senses brought her to the bathroom. There was still steam hanging around the area, most likely someone had taken a shower before this whole incident began. She searched every nook and cranny for their target. Yet, no sign of him was present. Thinking all was clear, Ikaruga left. Not a moment too soon, the boy popped his head out of the bath water, gasping for air. Despite being soaked to the bone, this didn't slow him down.

* * *

Katsuragi felt as if she was going in circles. She was following a trail of water-soaked show prints throughout the building. Even with this clear evidence of where he was going, Katsuragi wasn't getting any closer to the intruder...Or maybe she wa closer than she thought.

A drop of water fell onto her forehead. After wiping the droplet off of her head, and confirming it was water, her natural instinct was to look up. Hanging onto the ceiling fan by one arm was the boy, still soaked from the bath hideout. He nervously chuckled and smiled as he waved to her. Katsuragi cracked her knuckles, excited for what she was going to do to him.

* * *

The boy yelled in fear as a barrage of shuriken and kunai zoomed over his head, he jumped to avoid a few that would have hit his legs. As he kept on running, the boy was on a collision course with Yagyu.

"You won't get away", She cooly said.

Yagyu opened her large fan and used it to shield herself. The boy hit her full force, and tumbled right over her. Somehow, he landed right on his feet. Both Yagyu and the boy locked eyes for a split second. He was just as surprised as her that he landed on his feet. This isn't last long before he continued to run.

"Yagyu! Did you get him", Katsuragi caught up to her, slightly out of breath.

"No, he is more skilled than I thought", Said Yagyu.

In reality, the boy survived her fan out of pure stupid luck. Nonetheless, he still kept running. Katsuragi and Yagyu, knowing where this hallway lead searched on. The only room left was the washer and dryer room. Katsuragi and Yagyu found nothing, only piles of folded clothes, the running dryer, and the basic laundry soap and fabric softness.

"I don't get it", Katsuragi shouted. "I KNOW HE CAME THIS WAY!"

"It's like I said, he is more skilled than I thought", Yagyu said resting her fan on her shoulder.

The ninja left the room to search for everyone else and see if they found anything. After they were a good distance, the dryer door burst open. The boy crawled out of the dryer, some clothes remained of the girls remained on him as he stumbled out. his world was spinning from dizziness, as he had been through the dryer. He would take a small pause before trying yet again to escape.

* * *

Asuka decided to play a clever card and search through the vents. This was the perfect escape way without being seen. Sure enough, Asuka's idea was predicted right. What she didn't predict was that she would literally come face to face with her enemy. For the sword time that day, Asuka and the boy paused as they made eye contact.

Time felt like it stood still as she looked though his eyes. She could hear her own heartbeat, and his exhausted breathing. They were close enough that she could feel his warm, yet minty, breath on her cheek. Taking advantage of the pause, the boy scurried away.

"Hey, you come back here this instant", Asuka yelled as she shuffled though the vents after him.

* * *

All leads had gone cold as the girls all rushed to a single room. They all looked exhausted from darting here and there.

"Man he's quick", Katsuragi panted as she put her hands on her knees.

"Yeah. He's gotta be a ninja or something", Asuka said.

Hibari asked, "How are we going to catch him?"

The door behind them suddenly burst open. Rushing into the room, was the boy. He hadn't noticed them, and started barricading the door. They all watched in silence as he locked the door, moved a large, and heavy bookshelf, and moving other furniture to block the way.

"Ahem", Ikaruga cleared her throat to make their presence known.

"Oh no", The boy muttered as he froze, not even bothering to turn around.

Slowly, he peered behind himself to see all of the kunoichi assembled.

"Get him", Yagyu said.

That was the end of a great chase the girls had not played in a long time. What would come next would surprise them all.

* * *

**I had some spare time and decided to put up chapter two of this fic. The song "The World Is New", by "Save Ferris", was going through my head as the girls chased the guy. Some clearance on this fic, I haven't played the games, nor have I finished all the manga either. So when I'm writing, I'm going to be referring to the anime. This takes place some time after the last episode. Also, this is not going to be a harem fic. Sorry to disappoint anyone who was waiting for that. XP I'm also still debating about other pairing besides the OC and Asuka.**

**Honestly, I don't have a clear idea where this fic is going. I kinda did this fic out of impulse, as I normally plot out a story before I begin writing. I have some elements to a plot, and I'm still cooking up new ideas to add to this story. If anyone has any suggestions for a story plot, I'm all ears. finally, for anyone who has followed my other stuff, I'm not exactly a scheduled writer. This is a hobby, not my career. It may be some time before I update chapters. Today I just got lucky. Plus, I'm still trying to work on my other fics. So for now, read, review, comment, all that good stuff. Thank you, and happy last day of July!**


	3. Chapter 3: Possible Trouble Ahead

The entire ruckus within this whole ordeal crashed through the second floor, down to the first floor. It was taking a lot of collateral damage to bring down one person. However, it wasn't just an ordinary person they were dealing with. The boy not only managed to out match their speed, he could also endure some of their strongest Ninpo.

Yagyu plunged the end of her fan into her enemy's stomach. This forced him through the first floor, down to the secret training gymnasium underground. Yagyu landed safely on top of him just as the others fell through the ceiling too.

"Nice job Yagyu", Asuka complemented her friend.

The boy's wavy vision came back to him as he stared up at ninja still stood on his chest, pointing the fan at his forehead.

"Surrender now, it'll make things a lot easier", Sad Yagyu.

"Not today!"

Unexpectedly, the boy grabbed her fan before kicking her off of him with overpowering strength.

"Yagyu", Hibari rushed to Yagyu.

Once again, the Hanzo Kunoichi blocked off the boy's escape route from three different angles. Asuka, Ikaruga, and Katsuragi surrounded him.

"No one hurts my friends and lives to get away with it", Said Katsuragi. "You're in for one wild ride now kid!"

Katsuragi brought her hands together for a special Ninoo transformation. As always, it started with their regular clothes dissolving away, which was replaced with their own unique ninja outfit. Rather simplistic, Katsuragi's outfit was mainly her Hanzo school uniform, but unbuttoned, revealing everything underneath. Along with a blue plaid skirt, she wore long socks covered by her signature metal boot. These boots were black with gold trim and soles. They were also adorned with a small purple tassel on each side.

Despite being rather flashy, these boots serve as her weapons of choice. The weight was immense, but Katsuragi could easily and quickly maneuver herself even with these boots. Katauragi leapt into the air before landing a ground breaking hammer kick into the ground. The strength from her attacks was frightening, as the boy barely moved out of harm's way.

"You ARE Ninjas", The boy spoke. "I thought I sensed something wrong when I came here!"

After getting the picture that they were indeed shinobi, the boy's expression changed. He looked more determined, and willing to stand his ground.

"You look more fired up", Katsuragi said. "Good! Now i can really have some fun!"

Watching not too far away, Asuka questioned Ikaruga, "Is it okay for her to fight him alone?"

"Katsuragi knows how to fight. She very strong, and very skilled, she won't go down easily", Ikaruga told her. "She'll be fine."

Hearing her senior speak so assuredly, Asuka felt a little better. They turned their attention back to Katsuragi. In a flurry of blows, Katsuragi attacked the boy with rapid kicks from a single leg. The boy shielded his face with both of his arm.

"Ha, you're wide open", Katsuragi said as she changed tactics.

The blonde Kunoichi used her opposite leg to land a bone breaking kick to her opponent's ribs. Even the other shinobi cringed from the blow dealt to the boy. As powerful as it was, he simply grunted in what appeared a little pain.

"_What_", Was all Katsuragi could think before the boy grabbed her leg.

With raw strength, the intruder swung Katsuragi over his head and slammed her onto the gymnasium floor. She hit the ground with a crash that pierced throughout the whole underground court.

"Katsuragi", Hibari yelled as se helped Yagyu sit up.

Katsuragi tumbled a few meters before looking back at him.

"Haha, you caught me off guard there! I didn't think anyone could just brush off one of my kicks! Let's see you brush off this one! Hiden Ninpo: Cross Panzer!"

Katsuragi's metal boots began emitting a green energy that spun around them like a whirlwind, suspending her slightly in the air. She charged towards at her enemy with great speed and launched into a fierce barrage of kicks, ending with her jumping high into the air and slamming her foot down on her opponent. That would have done some serious damage to any normal opponent. Yet through some sheer force, her enemy did not go down. Instead, the boy grabbed looked back up at her with a hint of aggression. His lower lip was bleeding, so he was taking damage, but it wasn't anywhere near enough.

"Now it's my turn", The boy said. "Animarusensu: Lion Palm!"

Katsuragi was thrown back with strong palm strike to her stomach, it not only knocked the wind out of her, but it also threw her halfway across the gymnasium. Ikaruga and Asuka watched as the intruder managed to outlast and overpower Katsuragi, one of their senior students of Hanzo Academy.

"Katsuragi, are you okay", Asuka called.

Katsuragi groaned as she rubbed her head.

"Yeah, I'm okay", She answered Asuka. "He's a lot tougher than I gave him credit for."

The boy had to pause a moment and took to a knee after all he had been up against. It was only going to get worse as Ikaruga stepped in. After performing her ninja transformation, the black-haired kunoichi unsheathed her sword, Hein. Once again, the boy's expression changed. He looked more worried, and took on a more defensive pose. Ikaruga noticed that he was staring specifically at her Nodachi.

"This sword is called Hein. It has been passed down through the generations of my adopted family", Ikaruga told him as she slowly unsheathed the long sword.

He quickly backed up and gained some more distance between them. His posture looked somewhat afraid, and his fighting pose was of a strange martial arts unknown to her.

"He's afraid of swords", Asuka put together.

The boy looked even more worried as Asuka drew her dual Kôdachi.

"Asuka, follow my lead! I think I know a way to disarm him and avoid his attacks", Ikaruga said not taking her eyes off of the boy.

"Right", Asuka said.

The second these kunoichi rushed him, a large puff of smoke suddenly blocked their path. After some coughing, the smoke cleared to reveal their higher-ups, Kiriya and Hanzo.

"Grandpa, Kiriya sensei", Asuka said.

"Hello my dear grand-daughter", Hanzo greeted Asuka.

The old man looked around at the rest of the students, and the new character.

"It seems like I've missed something exciting."

Hanzo approached the boy, who moved back just in case.

"Don't worry, I don't mean any harm", Said Hanzo. "You are Kemono, right?"

"How do you know my name", Asked the boy.

"Aw, I knew your mother when she was just a child.

"Grandpa, you know this guy", Asuka pointed.

"Oh my, it looks like I have much to explain", Hanzo chuckled.

* * *

After assessing the situation much more peacefully, Hanzo sat everyone down to have a nice cup of tea. The boy, named Kemono, sat opposite to all of them. He was feeling rather uncomfortable, and didn't ever try drinking the tea or eating the snacks provided.

"Don't worry, it's not poisoned", Kiriya explained.

Even so, Kemono didn't drink what was prepared for him just yet.

"How do you know my name? And how did you know my Mum", Kemono asked.

"She was a student of mine a long time ago", Said Hanzo.

"Then, you know what happened", Asked Kemono.

"I'm sorry", Hanzo bowed his head to Kemono. "She was a wonderful person, and one of my best students. I'm sure she was a loving mother and husband as well."

"Yeah", Kemono nodded in agreement. "She was."

Asuka and the rest of the shinobi listened to Hanzo and Kemono speak. Still, something did puzzle them.

"Why did you come here", Asked Ikaruga.

"I felt the presence of ninja here. I knew something wasn't right, and came to investigate", Said Kemono.

"It looks as if you did more than just investigate", Kiriya spoke.

From behind them a piece of wood fell from the ceiling, evidence of their brawl from earlier.

Feeling embarrassed now, Kemono quickly responded, "I can pay for this, I SWEAR!"

"And how long will it take for you to pay for all of this", Yagyu questioned.

Kemono began to sadly mumble to himself and count on his fingers. It was obviously going to be a long time, costing a big number.

"If you are willing to listen, I have a proposition for you", Hanzo told Kemono.

Kemono leaned in a little bit closer to hear what the old man had to say.

"If you are willing to work here, do the chores, clean the rooms, and maintain the building, I will allow this incident to slip by. Does that sound good?"

Kemono took one more look at the broken ceiling. There was no way he could pay all of this damage off, not on a part-time job at least.

"Ok, I'll take it", Said Kemono.

"Excellent", Said Hanzo, "I'll expect you bright and early tomorrow before school."

"Ok", Kemono acknowledge. "I'll get out of your hair then."

Just as Kemono was about to leave the room, Hanzo spoke again.

"Oh and Kemono, do you have a place to stay?"

"Yeah", KEmono said.

"There is an extra room on the basement floors", Hanzo told him. "It would be a change from playing "Wandering Hermit"."

"You live on the streets", Asked Hibari.

"Not on the streets...Just...Wherever I can find free rent", Kemono tried to justify his situation.

"You may stay here if you promise to be on your best behavior, and maintain the building", Hanzo said.

The girls became shocked hearing this and questioned, "WHAAAT?!"

"Grandpa, are you serious", Asuka questioned her grandpa.

"You're gonna let this guy stay here", Ikaruga joined Asuka.

"Is there a problem with this", Hanzo asked.

"YES! He's, he's a boy! And, he's not even a ninja", Asuka argued.

"You're right", Hanzo said as he twirled the edge of his mustache. That completely slipped my mind...Perhaps you can train him my grand-daughter."

Both Asuka and Kemono shouted, "WHAT", simultaneously.

"Yes, that would be wonderful", Said Hanzo. "You both have promising abilities, and I think it would do you some good to have a student of your own."

Kemono and Asuka locked eyes, again that day. Kemono choked on his own words, and Asuka couldn't form any sentences at all.

"I believe you have school, and some packing to take care of", Hanzo told him.

"R-Right", Kemono said before making himself scarce.

* * *

Without another word, Kemono exited the room. He leaned his whole body against the wall, taking some time just to breathe.

"What just happened", Kemono asked no one.

* * *

Still at the table, the girls began to barrage Hanzo with questions.

"Grandpa, what are you thinking", Asuka shouted.

"He can't be trusted. He broke into our secret hideout", Said Ikaruga.

"Which should have been guarded in the first place", Kiriya scolded.

"And let's not forget, the sensei should be the most alert one, AND the first to notice an intruder as well", Hanzo pointed out.

Kiriya was put on the spot. He wouldn't have any time to feel bad for himself. Yagyu continued on with the questions.

"Master HAnzo, do you really believe it's a good idea to let him stay here? We know nothing about him."

"We know nothing about anyone when meeting someone new my dear", Explained Hanzo.

"But still, you saw how powerful he was", Katsuragi said rolling her shoulder. "What if he turns against us, or what if he's a spy sent here to find out information about us, or assassinate us?"

"I knew his mother, she was one of my best students. If she raised him properly, I know she would teach him right from wrong. He's a good young man, I can see it in his eyes. But there's something else in his eyes that I can't quite put my finger on.

"Like what", Asked Hibari.

"Something troubling for him", Said Hanzo. " You're all wonderful, and determined shinobi, with a troubled past too. Teach him, and be patient with him. Maybe, just maybe, he can be someone as great as all of you."

"You honor us, Master Hanzo", Kiriya bowed his head.

Hanzo smiled, "In any case, now you have someone to do the chores, and repair the building when needed free of charge!"

A bead of sweat ran down the side of Asuka's head as she chuckled.

"_I'll bet THAT'S the real reason he wants Kemono to stay here_", Asuka thought.

"I also believe you will need someone like Kemono now more than ever."

"What do you mean grandpa", Asuka questioned.

Now Hanzo became serious.

"I trust Kiriya explained how different ninja schools have been revealed by some unknown person, or persons?"

"Yes", They all answered.

"These schools aren't just being exploited", Said Hanzo. "They are being destroyed."

"Destroyed?! By who", Ikaruga wanted an explanation.

"I don't know. The schools were badly damaged, and the shinobi retreat, or become victims of the enemy."

"What else can you tell us about these incidents", Kiriya grew concerned.

"Each story is the same, the enemy is only one person with magics that are not Ninpo. Each school's secret scrolls go missing after the incident."

"So they're going after the secret scrolls from each ninja school", Hibari chimed in.

"It seems right, but we still don't know why."

"Is there anything else you can tell us", Asked Ikaruga.

"Just beware of the hair color of the people you see", Hanzo said.

"Of the hair color we see", Hibari asked.

"We don't know what their faces look like, but the one destroying the school has red, black, or silver hair."

"They must be changing the colors to help disguise themselves better", Hibari concluded.

"It would be a smart way to avoid detection from enemies", Said Asuka.

Everyone had to take some time to soak this all in. Could one person really be taking out entire ninja school to take their scrolls? What if they came to their school? Hanzo Academy had some talented Kunoichi, but they lacked numbers compared to any other secret ninja clans or schools.

"For now, I will find as much as I can about who is responsible for all this", Hanzo said leaving the room. "In the mean time, I suggest you train and take care of yourselves. After all, you will have a new person in your care from now on."

Hanzo closed the door with a small chuckle.

"I almost forgot about that Kemono guy", Said Asuka.

Behind them, the very wall tipped over in a single crash, connecting two rooms together.

"He BETTER fix this place up", Katsuragi warned.

Like it or not, they were going to have a new character in their lives, and most likely, new problems to deal with.

* * *

**It's raining outside right now, so I had some spare time to write. Here we pick up where we left off. I wanted to focus this chapter on showing different things, mainly the end of the comical chase scene, to a fight, to Kemono being accepted into the academy, to the main plot of the story. I didn't want to simply jump from scene to scene, so I hope I did a good job of transitioning from one scene to another.**

**As for Kemono, I hope I didn't make him seem too powerful. Yes, these are trained Kunoichi, masters of Ninpo, and the arts of the ninja. While Kemono was not trained as they were, he did have some different previous training, as you'll read later on. Therefore, this will also explain how he was able to hold his own against the Hanzo girls, and how he could take much punishment.**

**Finally, it was also pointed out that my story doesn't give a supernatural feel to it, as it says in the description. However, I did put that there were some supernatural events occurring around them, which they'll most likely have to deal with (Hint, Hint). Also keep in mind, this story is still only up to chapter three, including the prelude part. Anyways, that's what I've got so far, and I hope you stick around for more.**


	4. Chapter 4: In The Dead Of Night

The five kunoichi exhaustedly entered the meeting room. They were greeted by their Sensei Kiriya. "Oh, you're all turning in for the night? How did Kemono's training go?"

"He's tough, I'll give him that", Katsuragi said. "Kemono's very fast, and very powerful."

"His stamina eclipses any of ours twice over", Said Yagyu.

* * *

_They all remember some of the exercises they did earlier that day. Not only did Kemono take one of Katsuragi's strongest kicks with minimal damage, he was able to lift twice as many weights as Ikaruga, Katsuragi, and Asuka put together. He could outrun Hibari's summon rabbit, and even managed to overpower Yagyu's squid summon._

* * *

"That's good news", Said Kiriya. "It sounds like his training is going very well.

"Yeah but...", Asuka hesitated to speak.

"But", Kiriya questioned.

"Weeeeeell...", Asuka trailed off her sentence remembering what else happened.

* * *

_Despite having great physical abilities, Kemono lacked the basic ninja skills. Out of fifty-five shuriken and throwing kunai, only three of them hit the target. He couldn't run vertically up a wall, even for a few feet. This was a requirement for ninja techniques and escape ways. When Kemono tried walking a rope line suspended a few feet off of the ground, Kemono fell...Every...Single...Time._

* * *

"Heeeee's...Not very talented", Asuka admitted.

Ikaruga spoke, "He's a strong combatant, but a poor shinobi."

"I see", Said Kiriya. "He's all brawl and no brain."

"No, that's not true", Hibari stood up for Kemono. "He's smart! He's very smart."

Hibari referred to one of the last trials Kemono had for the day.

* * *

Hanging high above them all in a tree, was a single scroll tied to a tree branch.

"Your task is very simple, you just have to get that scroll down from the tree", Said Ikaruga. "You can use any technique of tool you want, but you can't climb the tree."

"What", Asked Kemono. "If I can't climb it, how am I supposed to get it out of the tree?"

"Part of being a ninja is figuring out ways to complete any obstacle", Yagyu explained.

"You have half an hour to find a way to get that scroll out of the tree", Ikaruga started the clock and took some distance with the rest of her friends.

Kemono looked around the area for any idea. Normally a ninja would just throw a shuriken, cutting the branch so the scroll would fall into their waiting hands. However, Kemono was no good at all when it came to using projectile weapons.

The scroll was too high in the tree for him to jump and grab it. He could've broken the tree, but a lot of his stamina and strength had been used up from previous task. What else was there to try?

"You can do it Kemono", Hibari cheered from a distance. "Don't give up!"

With some extra encouragement, Kemono check his surroundings again. Not too far away was a long stick. The wheels began to turn in his head, as he formulated a plan. Kemono put the stick down and began to take his who laces off.

"What is he doing", Asked Asuka.

"I don't know", Katsuragi answered.

Once the laces were off, Kemon grabbed the stick, and a jagged looking rock before tying them together with the laces. As carefully as he could, Kemono lifted the stick into the air. Using the jagged rock at the end, Kemono began to saw at the tree branch.

After about ten minutes of working this sawing method, the tree branch broke. The scroll fell to the ground an Kemono leaned over to pick the item off of the forest floor. It took some time, effort, and thinking, but Kemono came out victorious.

* * *

"I know he's not very talented in a lot of things", Hibari defended. "But he's smart, and strong-willed. To me, that's more than enough to be a ninja."

Kiriya was taken back by these words, even more so that they came from Hibari.

"You are absolutely right Hibari", Her Sensei complemented. "It's still early to give a full opinion about him. In time I'm sure he'll be a great ninja."

Hibari smiled in a cheerful way, "Yeah, I think so too!"

* * *

In the dead of night, Asuka lay awake in her bed staring at the ceiling. As she laid there, she had many thoughts going through her mind. It was reasonable, as a lot happened recently, there was the Serpent Academy and Dougen, that was a big deal.

They still hadn't heard if the Crimson Girls survived or not. Then there was what her grandfather said about the schools. Even for a ninja, there was no way a single person could take down an entire school alone, let alone multiple shinobi schools.

Finally there was the new character in her life. Why was her grandfather pushing to train Kemono so much? What's more, why was she in charge of training him? In any case, she was there to be his sensei.

Watching the ceiling, there was a little lighting from the moon outside that shone from her window. Looking at the lighting, she saw a small shadow pass by. Immediately, her eyes drew to the window, but saw nothing.

* * *

Carefully and quietly in ways only a ninja could do, Asuka made her way downstairs. She had a kunai in hand, just in case. Moving down the hallway, she heard a window open. On instinct, Asuka hid in the shadows and watched from the corner of a doorway.

Her vision narrowed onto a shadow approaching just up ahead. The shadow belonged...To a monkey? Yes indeed, the shadow came from the body of a Macaque Monkey. The small primate took a quick look around and walked across the halls to Kemono's room. It didn't even noticing Asuka.

* * *

Asuka still remained in the shadows as she followed the monkey to Kemono's room. Looking through the small crack in his door she could see all his lights were on. He had stacks and stacks of books piled on a desk, on the floor, and on his bed.

Each book was either a volume, or wikipedia about animals, birds, fish, or bugs. Kemono sat at a desk looking through one of the books as he nibbled on some banana chips. Th small monkey jumped on his bed, squawking at the boy.

Kemono looked over his shoulder, "Rafiki, what are you doing here", Asked Kemono.

The monkey made more noises, almost as if it was taking to him.

"I don't know how you found me, but here", Kemono tossed the monkey a banana chip.

Still not moving from the desk or his books, Kemono began to read some of the words out loud while tossing the monkey some food every now and then.

"Spiders are able to walk on walls because hundreds of of tiny hairs on the tip of every leg increase the contact area, allowing the spider to stick through Van der Waals forces."

Taking another book off of the bed, Kemono vegan to era out of that one.

The tree frog has round disks at the end of its toes. These act as suckers and help the frog climb up smooth leaves. The toes are long and can curl around thin twigs. Some tree frogs have sticky webbing between their fingers and toes that enables them to hold on more easily. The frog's belly skin is loose, and this also clings to the tree."

Closing a few of the books, Kemono looked at one more just in case.

"Squirrels can easily climb down trees headfirst because they can reverse their hind feet to point backward, so they can use their hind claws", Kemono read. "That would have been helpful earlier when I tried climbing that brick wall."

Asuka watched as he spun around in his computer chair. He looked to Rafiki, who stared back at him.

"What", Kemono asked the monkey.

In return, the primate squeaked and squawked back to him.

"Do I look that bad", Kemono said while looking into a mirror. "I guess a lot has been on my mind lately. I'm in a whole new world, with new people."

Asuka was astonished as Kemono communicated with the small mammal. Did they really understand each other?

"Yeah I'm happy to be here", He told the monkey. "It's just...Well...Can I really trust these people? They're ninja. Ninja's fight, they use weapons, they sabotage, and they kill. I haven't had the best encounters with ninjas before. Are these really people I can trust?"

Kemono listened to what the monkey had to say.

"I guess you're right. It's still early, to pass any judgements. I'm pretty sure they took a big chance too by letting me stay here."

Asuka heard every word Kemono said to the monkey. He didn't trust them. More specifically he didn't trust ninja. But why? What happened that wouldn't let him trust ninja? Wasn't his mother a ninja trained under her grandfather? Whatever the case, he was at least willing to give them a chance. Kemono looked at the clock on his desk.

"It's late. I should call it a night, and you should get back to your troop."

The monkey opened its palms to Kemono.

"Fine", Kemono sighed as he handed the last of the banana chips to Rafiki.

Kemono opened his window for the Macaque to climb out of. Even after it left, Asuka stayed and watched him. Once he closed the window, Kemono took off his shirt. Underneath was a black tank top, but he didn't stop there. He had no idea anyone was watching him as he change his clothes into evening wear.

Asuka was too entranced by all this to move. This was the first time she had seen a boy with such little clothes. She would never admit this, but she liked what she saw. His muscles were well-rounded, and powerful looking. He wasn't hulking, or large, but he had the build of a well-trained athlete. He was down to his boxers and the tank top now.

Just as he was about to remove his tank top, revealing his chiseled and unphotoshoped abs, he paused a moment. Asuka froze as Kemono stared at the door crack, right where she was.

"Rafiki, is that you", Kemono whispered as he walked to the door.

Kemono opened to door all the ways, but found no one there. He looked to the left and right of the halls, but saw no one. With no one in sight, Kemono shrugged off the presence he thought he felt a moment ago. The door shut for the night, but Asuka didn't move from her hiding spot around the corner of the hallway.

Her heart was beating so fast, and her face burned red. It was A miracle he didn't see the red glow of her face like a nightlight, or hear the steam pouring out of her ears like a hot kettle.

* * *

Far on the opposite sides of the dorms, Ikaruga began to jolt in her sleep. She made small whimpering sounds, and mumbled in her sleep. She was having a nightmare, and by the outside appearance it was a bad one.

* * *

_In the recesses of her mind, Ikaruga had vivid images of random things. There was a blazing fire around her, and the ceiling around her began to collapse right on her. The image changed to her speaking to Homuro, and Mikage of the Serpent Academy. Ikaruga couldn't understand what they were saying. What was surprising though, was that they weren't trying to harm Ikaruga. Sure they ha worked together to defeat Dougen, but the simple fact was that they were still enemies._

_Once again, the view looked different. This time, someone had a very strong grip around her neck. She kicked about as she was lifted off the ground trying to pry the hand off of her neck. Her vision was very blurry from the lack of oxygen. All she could make out was that they had raven black hair and dark obsidian eyes. That's when she felt something grab her shoulder._

_"Hey", A voice shouted. "Wake Up!"_

_Thee hand on her shoulder turned her completely around. Now, the hand on her throat was gone, the black-haired man was gone, and the whole nightmare turned into a pleasantly calm dream. Everything was blank white. It felt like she was a drawing on a blank sheet of paper. Kneeling right in front of her was a boy with blonde hair. He was about her age in comparison, maybe a year or two older. Ikaruga couldn't understand it, but there was something very calming about this boy. It wasn't his attire, which was a simple white shirt, jeans, and white shoes. Maybe it was because he didn't have his hands on her throat. Whatever the case, the boy leaned in a little closer and whispered to her._

_"Hey, take it easy, you're safe now. But I need you to wake up."_

_"What", Was all Ikaruga could ask._

_Without another word the boy took both of her wrist, and pulled her forward._

* * *

The next thing Ikaruga knew, she was sitting up in her own bed. She perfused, panting, and shaking. Ikaruga looked around the room just in case. It was as it was when she fell asleep, and didn't seem to be a dream. The girl covered her chest and mouth with her blanket as she tried to calm herself once again. Her attention was turned to her window as she sat there. It was morning already, and it looked to be another beautiful day. Whatever the previous night held, hopefully it would wash away with the new day.

* * *

**Aw, another day, and another chapter. To better clarify this one, I wanted to show that there has been some interaction between the kunoichi and Kemoo already. I know the whole monkey and studying scene didn't seem like a big deal, but it will play a much bigger roll later on. As for Asuka...Well, it wouldn't be Senran Kagura without a little comedy and awkwardness. XD As for Ikaruga, this is just planting seeds for the story growth, and what's to come later on. Plus, I want to make sure I'm involving all the characters in as many ways as I can. Till next time, TTFN; Ta-Ta For Now!**


	5. Chapter 5: Strengths And Weaknesses

Katsuragi, not quite fully awake, walked the halls to the dining room where breakfast was waiting. As she yawned and rubbed her eyes, Katsuragi stepped on a small puddle of water. Now completely awake, she could see a "Caution: Slippery Floor" sign. Kemono was mopping the floor just up ahead of her. He hadn't noticed the blind shinobi, as his back was turned to her, and he had his headset playing music in his ears.

Katsuragi watched as he swayed left and right. Wether it was from mopping, or from the rhythm of the music, she couldn't tell. By nature, Katsuragi knew Kemono was very vulnerable to any of her mischievous antics. With a sparkling gleam in her eye, Katsuragi snuck up on Kemono, both hands twitching.

Kemono yelped in surprise as Katsuragi quickly pinched Kemono's rear. This sure caught him of guard, but it also made him knock over the entire bucket of water. He looked bashing himself to find Katsuragi laughing hysterically.

"C'mon Katsuragi, it took me all morning to mop this floor", Kemono complained.

"I got you", Katsuragi laughed. "I got you good, you gotta admit that!"

Kemono looked away in embarrassment, as focused on cleaning the new mess at hand. Katsuragi leaned in to whisper something naughty in his ear.

"You sure made a funny noise when I pinched your butt."

His faced darkened a strawberry red. Before Katsuragi embarrassed him any further Asuka came to his rescue.

"Katsuragi, don't tease him", Said Asuka.

"Aw, good morning Asuka!"

Katsuragi easily turned her attention from teasing Kemono, to fondling Asuka.

"Katsuragi, must you do this every morning", Asuka said as she tried to pry herself from Katsuragi's pervy hands.

Asuka got a quick glance of Kemono. He was purposely staring in the opposite direction. She could see how embarrassed he was by the redness of his face, and the sweat beading down his neck.

"That's enough Katsuragi", Asuka finally was able to free herself from Katsuragi's grip.

Both Asuka and Katsugari left Kemono to take care of the chores. After all, doing the chores was how he'd earn his keep. Plus it would be rather awkward to stick around any longer.

* * *

Breakfast went about in normal fashion, or at least as normal as it would get for the Hanzo Kunoichi.

Despite having a whole meal set out before them, they just couldn't take their gaze off of Kemono. He ate sooo, muuuuch! This was already his fifth bowl of breakfast this morning. He didn't eat like a savage or a slob, but he could sure put down a meal pretty quick, and didn't show any signs of slowing down. Kemono eventually caught onto the gazing eyes of the ninja around him.

With one final swallow, Kemono apologized, "Sorry it's um, it's good."

"No, don't worry", Said Asuka. "If you like it that much, there's plenty to go around."

Asuka smiled to Kemono with enough friendliness to warm anyone's heart.

"Thanks Asuka", Said Kemono. "In that case, can I get another bowl?"

Everybody from Asuka to Kiriya face planted into the floor.

* * *

Again, training continued for the students, with Hanzo and Kiriya watching them. As always, the girls proved to be outstanding shinobi. With precision, abilities, focus, and Ninpo, they could easily outclass other ninja within other schools. However, their new student, Kemono, still had a way to go before he was anywhere in their league. Kemono at the time braced himself for another training session.

"Today, we are going to test your fighting abilities", Kiriya said to Kemono.

"What am I supposed to do", Kemono questioned.

"You'll be the opponent of each student, one at a time. From this, we'll see what you're capable of", Kiriya explained.

"Sensei, how are we going to decide who battles Kemono first", Hibari questioned.

"You'll do it fair and square, by drawing straws", Hanzo held out a handful of straws.

Each kunoichi picked a straw out of Hanzo's hand. In the end, it was Yagyu who had the shortest straw. Yagyu took a fair distance away from Kemono.

"Ready...Begin", Kiriya shouted.

Immediately, Yagyu prepared a Ninpo attack right off the bat.

"Hiden Ninpo: Tentacles of Ice!"

Yagyū jumped into the air as she made several hand signs. A squid was generated on top of her bladed umbrella that began throwing down large chunks of ice on Kemono below. Kemono saw the incoming onslaught from above, and focused more on defense.

Animarusensu: Tortoise Shell!"

Kemono emitted a white aura from his body. It quickly formed into a white dome with crevices in it, looking much like a tortoise-shell. The protective dome completely guarded Kemono against Yagyu's Ninpo attack.

Once the squid disappeared, and the Kemono's she'll was down, Yagyu went straight in for the kill. She drilled her spiraling fan hard into Kemono's stomach. The boy had the wind knocked out of him momentarily, but he didn't go down. Instead he grabbed the fan, with Yagyu still holding on, and threw it over his head. As a ninja, Yagyu landed nicely on her feet.

"Animarusensu: Boar Tusk!"

In blinding speed, Kemono dashed to Yagyu's side. With as much force as he could, Kemono rammed his elbow into Yagyu, aiming for her ribs. The girl was well trained to use her fan, and blocked Kemono's attack, receiving no damage. Still, the force of this blow did send her back about fifteen feet.

The rest of the ninja watched Kemono battle Yagyu in their sparing match. Kiriya payed extra close attention to Kemono.

"His fighting style is very unique. I've never seen one quite like that before."

Hanzo smiled under his bushy beard and mustache.

"He really is his mother's son", Hanzo said.

"Huh? What do you mean Master Hanzo", Asked Katsuragi.

* * *

_Hanzo's memory flickered to a young girl spinning around and around with her arms wide open._

"She was a talented ninja, and had her own unique way of using the environment to her advantage."

_There was another image of the girl watching a gopher pop it's head out of the ground. The memory changed to her surprising Hanzo by popping her head out of the floorboard. Next, the girl closely watched a praying mantis on a leaf._

"She was especially fascinated with animals. She developed her own fighting style called, Animarusensu, or Animal Style. It was originally just a martial arts style, but Kemono has transformed it into something greater by adding Ki to his attacks. I can see the resemblance between her and her son."

_The girl made a pose in the same manner as a praying mantis would when it was agitated. Soon, the image changed from the girl, to her son. He was also in the praying mantis position. _

* * *

"Animarusensu: Mantis Chop!"

Kemono countered all of the squid's tentacle attacks with these mantis chops. Asuka watched Kemono's feats in amazement. For someone who couldn't even throw a shuriken straight, he knew how to fight.

"He's got strength, speed, defense, durability, and nearly an unlimited amount of stamina", Katsuragi shouted. "Is this guy even human?!"

"He doesn't even look tired yet", Asuka noticed.

"If he plays his defenses right, Kemono just might outlast everybody", Kiriya said as he watched the boy.

The Sensei raise his hand in the air.

"That's enough Yagyu!"

"Sensei? I can still fight", The silver haired girl began.

"I'm sure you can, but it's time for Kemono to change opponents."

"Yes Sensei", Said Yagyu.

"You were awesome Yagyu! And you two Kemono", Hibari equally cheered for both of them.

"Thank you, Hibari", Said Yagyu.

Kemono smiled to the younger girl, but he was pulled back into battle mode by Kiriya.

"Ikaruga, it is your turn now!"

"Yes Sensei", Ikaruga told Kiriya.

Ikaruga stepped forth a pretty good distance from Kemono. The boy stood ready for whatever she prepared for him. However, his composure slightly rattled as she transformed and held her sword. Asuka noticed his shaky manner before anyone else.

"Ready...Begin", Yelled their sensei.

Ikaruga took the lead in the fight, knowing that in order to outmatch Kemono's insane physical abilities, she'd have to take him out quickly. Ikaruga rushed Kemono straight forward. Even though he was much faster than her, Kemono was frozen in his tracks. He saw her coming, but he couldn't avoid her. He was too focused on her sword, and nothing else.

Ikaruga drew her heirloom Nodachi sword and slashed at Kemono. He ducked out of its way, but not in time to save a few strands of his hair. As Kemono knelt on the ground, he was too late to react as Ikaruga kneed him in the jaw. This made his teeth clamp down with a thick clashing sound. Kemono staggered back and had only a split second to see Ikaruga attacking with her sword.

Kemono kept his distance, just out of Ikaruga's reach. Asuka noticed that Kemono was not fighting the way he battled Yagyu. He wasn't attacking, or defending, he was just trying to get away. The look on his face seemed to lose all fighting spirit, and even looked somewhat afraid. Asuka's memory flashed back to Kemono's invasion the day before. He had that same look, like when a bunny rabbit is caught in a trap and it can't get out. They watched a few more moments as Ikaruga chased after the evading boy. Pretty soon, she had him cornered against a thick tree.

With no place left to escape, Kemono quickly tore off a large branch from the tree. It was about as thick as a wine bottle. The way Ikaruga raced to him, there was just enough time for Kemono to block Ikaruga's thrust with the branch. Sadly, when wood crosses metal, metal prevails. The sword stabbed right through the branch much like a knife stabs through a loaf of bread.

"WAIT STOP", Asuka shouted.

Ikaruga stopped in her tracks hearing Asuka scream at the top of her lungs. Kemono, who had his eyes closed, slightly opened one eye. He fully viewed the tip of Ikaruga's Nodachi. It cleanly pierced through the branch Kemono held, and was within centimeters of his eye. He didn't even want to know what would have happened if Asuka had said nothing. That's when all attention turned to Asuka.

"Uuum", She stuttered in embarrassment. "I mean, Ikaruga has already won, soooo, isn't this match?"

Hanzo nodded in agreement, "You're absolutely right my granddaughter. This battle is now over!"

Ikaruga withdrew her sword as Kemono slumped to the floor. He leaned against the tree in relief and exhaustion. In the end, Kemono choked.

* * *

Needless to say, the training for Kemono ended for the day, and it was only three in the afternoon. Kiriya Sensei was kind enough to give them the rest of the day off. This was a special treat, as normally Sunday was their off day. While the girls went to the store and had their own fun, Kiriya and Hanzo sat to discuss something.

"Well, what is you're assessment on Kemono", Asked Kiriya.

"He has low skills, and techniques, but more than makes up for it with physical abilities. By comparison to the rest of the girls, Kemono's physical powers are off the charts. As expected from my previous student's son, Kemono's power is astounding.", Hanzo explained.

Kiriya added, "He's the embodiment of living Ki, WEAPONIZED! Not only can he output an enormous amount of Ki, he can also manipulate his Ki, to strengthen and enhance his body."

"As a matter of fact, he can conduct more Ki than any student I've ever seen his age, making him possible one of the toughest in the last three decades", Hanzo said stroking his beard.

"That may be so, Master Hanzo", Said Kiriya, "But why is he so important that we accepted him so quickly with no background check, no proper training, or even a summon animal affinity?

Hanzo looked back to Kiriya in a serious manner.

"Kiiya, these recent attacks upon other ninja schools have increased drastically, even within the last few days. The details are still very vague, meaning that these attacks, and attackers are very unpredictable. They most likely can predict our own moves or strategies. I'm hoping that Kemono will be a card they can't predict. If we can properly train Kemono, and if Kemono can teach your students something new, we might have a chance of surviving whatever lays ahead."

"So it's that bad then", Kiriya asked.

"It is", Said Hanzo. "I don't want the girls to worry about this. They can't be allowed to have fear within themselves. The enemy will prey on this."

"Yes, Master Hanzo", Said Kiriya.

* * *

Near the evening time, Asuka walked through the dorms heading for her room. Coincidently, Kemono was heading her way. Their encounter was inevitably, as they now lived in the same building. Asuka was the first to notice Kemono while he dried his hair with a blue towel. He had just emerged from the shower and was only wearing a black tank top and blue shorts. He noticed Asuka when he was about eight feet in front of her.

"Oh, hi there", Said Kemono.

"Yeah", Asuka chuckled nervously.

They didn't say much after, and the silence was kinda awkward. Why were they always having these awkward face to face meetings all the time?

Kemono swung the towel around a little, "I um, just got out of the shower."

He didn't say more as he quickly shuffled past her to his own room. Just before he was out of her reach, Asuka spoke out loud.

"You were awesome today", She blurted.

Kemono turned around in surprise to look back at her.

"You're, you're very strong. And, and you can fight good", Asuka said as she tried desperately to make conversation.

"Oh, um, thank you", Kemono said scratching an imaginary itch at the back of his neck.

"It's just...There's something that bothers me", Asuka continued.

Kemono paused as he let her continue, wondering what was bothering her.

"When Ikaruga used her sword, you tensed up", Asuka slowly started, worried that she was tiptoeing on glass here. "And when Ikaruga and I tried to fight you the other day, you got nervous when we drew our swords...Are you, are you afraid of swords?"

The boy looked down as the floor as if his feet were the most interesting thing in the world.

"It's been a big problem of mine for a while", Said Kemono.

"Why", She plainly asked.

"It's...It's something personal."

"Did you have a bad experience and accidentally cut yourself", She questioned.

"It was a bad experience, but I didn't cut myself", Kemono told her.

"If you didn't do it, then who did?"

"I'm sorry Asuka", He told her, "But I'd rather keep that to myself.

"But maybe I can help you", Asuka pushed. "I can teach you how to use one if you like."

"No Asuka, I would really rather drop this subject now", Kemono said.

"But I'm a great swordswoman, and so is Ikaruga. I'm sure she would be more than willing to teach you. You can trust us to teach you all you need to know about swords."

"No, I can't trust you, or Ikaruga", Kemono argued.

"Why can't you trust ust? Is it because you're still nervous", Asuka asked.

"No, it's because you're ninja", Kemono let that one slip out.

Asuka was taken back by what Kemono said. He didn't trust them because they were ninja? His mom was a ninja, and pretty much everyone in this building besides Kemono was a ninja. The two stared through the other's eyes.

"I'm sorry", Kemono said at last. "It's just from some past experiences that I don't trust ninjas."

He waited for Asuka to respond in either offense, sadness, or anger. When he got no reaction from her, Kemono turned around and left for his room. Asuka did the same before he was out of her sight. She felt hurt by what he just told her. And for some odd reason, Kemono felt awful by the words he let slip from his mouth.

* * *

**I'm actually surprised by how much reception I'm getting from this fic in so little time. Again, I'm probably boasting Kemono's powers and less on the girls. The Animarusensu is something I thought up on my own, but my friend said there's fictional fighting styles similar to this. So just for clarification, I didn't copy this from anything. Besides Kemono's power, I explained some limitations Kemono has. Swords...Who would've guessed?...I mean, besides Asuka. Aw man, that scene at the end was like, OUCH! Even I felt that one! (He sure didn't distrust them when he was eating their food XD) I know what he said was a little hypocritical, but all those events will help link to what's going to happen later, no surprise. I know I haven't added any major plot events, or give this fic that supernatural feeling yet, but it'll come, don't worry. This is still the beginning, and some stuff has to be cleared, and prepared before that happens. Anyways, read, review, subscribe, and don't do drugs kids!**


	6. Chapter 6: Eyes That Watch You

"Hundred of miles from the Hanzo Academy, an entire sail boat was being boarded by various shinobi. Each person loaded crates of cargo onto the ship.

"C'mon, we've gotta be out of here by the time the sun sets", Their kunoichi commander ordered.

The woman looked down at her clipboard, and noticed three marks were unchecked.

"And why haven't the smoke pellet ingredients been loaded into the ship yet?!"

Since no one knew where the missing cargo was, the kunoichi walked back to the school to search for their cargo, and the students responsible for loading it in.

* * *

Once inside, there was an eerie feeling within the school. The commander took a cautious pause before entering the school. Something wasn't right. She could feel it in her bones. Carefully and cautiously, the woman crept through the school one step at a time. This small trek would lead her to the storage room. That's where she found her was blood everywhere. On the floor, smeared across the walls, and even on the ceiling, there was blood. Her students were impaled to the wall with their own weapons. One student was completely torn in half. Not cut in half, torn in half. As the sensei backed up in horror, screams and explosions came from outside. The woman rushed back outside to aid her students.

* * *

In the little time it took her to run outside, it was already too late. The ship was being torn apart by large, red, tentacle like appendages. A single student ran to her.

"Sensei, please help us", The girl cried out.

Before she could reach her sensei, one of the tentacles tripped the girl, and started pulling her back by the leg.

"SENSEI", The poor girl yelled as she struggled to free herself.

"I'm coming! Please hang on", Their commanded said.

The tentacle pulled the student into the dark hole of the ship, most likely broken in by the invader. Before her sensei could make it in, there was a deep crunching sound. This noise came from the crushing of her student's bones. The woman waited in silence just outside of the hole. After a few seconds, the woman burst in, but found no enemy.

* * *

There were tentacles everywhere, but she was able to effectively hide from them all due to years of ninja training. Moving in deeper and deeper through the ship, she found one student dangling a broken shoulder, and holding a bloody side.

"Sensei", The boy reached out for her.

The woman took him into her arms just as he was about to fall.

"What happened to you", She asked in fear. "Who did this to you?!"

"Sensei, it wasn't ninja, or people", He gagged to talk. "It was something else. It wasn't human."

The two jumped as three tentacles popped out of the ground, impaling three other students. As quickly as they had emerged, the red appendages retreated back to the lower parts of the ship. Just beneath them was the cargo bay, and it was also where their enemy was. Both student and sensei watched as a mysterious man searched through the crates using his arms and tentacles popping our of his back. They could not see his face. All they could describe about him was his thick, wavy, crimson hair, and a maroon red trench coat. All of his arms and tentacles focused onto one box.

Breaking the wooden casing, the enemy found their ninja scroll stash. The two shinobi watched as he took each scroll and forced them into his chest. It was like watching someone stab pencils into silly putty. Now the enemy had their most powerful ninja scroll within his hands. Opening this was said to unlock greater power, and give access to forbidden Ninpo.

"He has the Secret Scroll of our school", Said their sensei. "I can not allow him to take that."

"What do we do, Sensei", Asked the wounded student.

The sensei and student never expected what was to happen next. A pair of yellow eyes suddenly flashed just three feet besides them. It snarled at the two before disappearing. That's when the red enemy caught onto the presence of the two ninja. They didn't get the chance to see his face before the tentacles swooped on them. The two were brutally thrown against the wall of the ship. The sensei had enough time to parry the tentacle by using two throwing knives as a shield.

"Are you injured my student?"

Looking back at the boy, he didn't react in time. The tentacle had pierced through his chest, and emerged from his back. She got a glance of his opened eyes, completely drained of all life, before it took him back to the red enemy. More and more tentacles emerged everywhere from the ship. There was nothing more she could do. She simply had to get out of there. As fast as she could, the woman bobbed and weaved past the red tentacles. She managed to sever some of the tentacles, but it was pointless. The cut off piece would bubble down to nothing, and a new end would be created in seconds.

* * *

Now out of the ship, the sensei wasn't limited to where she ran. She had a clear open space to run. When she seemed to be out of the clear, a large shadow appeared above her. Looking back, was a large red hand around fifty feet in diameter. I t approached her rapidly, and she likewise increased her speed. In spite of her speed as a trained ninja, this hand would be the last thing she ever saw.

* * *

The shinobi at Hanzo Academy had no idea what was going on beyond the lunch table they were gathered around. As Kiriya, and Hanzo kept it a secret, and they had their own matters to think about. Asuka was still feeling pretty down about what Kemono said last night.

_"Why can't you trust us? Is it because you're still nervous", Asuka asked._

_"No, it's because you're ninja", Kemono let that one slip out._

The memory was still fresh in her mind, and it was really bothering her. What she didn't know was that it was also bothering Kemono. He wasn't the smartest person when it came to girls, but he knew he said something to this girl that he shouldn't have. They could have easily ended all of this by simply apologizing, or talking it out. But, like most people, they bit their tongues, and did nothing about it. They didn't even look at each other the whole day. They would have to eventually, but both decided to bide their time for as long as they could.

Feeling like she needed a drink, Asuka reached for the pitcher of water on the table. What she didn't predict was that Kemono reached for the same pitcher of water to quench his own thirst. Both their hands touched ever so slightly, but it sent a jolt up their spines that felt like they were hit by a tazer. The two locked eyes again, not ready at all for this. The rest of the girls watched these events take place, especially Hibari. Both Asuka and Kemono retracted their hands. Asuka took a drink from her cup, despite it being empty. Kemono also bit so hard into his food that he actually bit off the tips of his chopsticks. Even a blind man could catch onto this. Whatever was going on between Asuka and Kemono, the other girls wanted in on it.

* * *

Somehow, the two had survived lunch. It was Kemono's job to do the dishes for the day. Katsuragi placed the last dish on the counter for Kemono to wash.

"Here you go, the last one."

"Thanks", Kemono told her her.

"Hey no worries, just get them all clean", Katsuragi said patting his butt.

Kemono stiffened at the feel of her hand on his bottom. She was obviously doing it on purpose. Katsuragi had to grin as she walked out of the room.

* * *

Just outside of the room, Katsuragi and the others, minus Asuka, watched Kemono wash the dishes.

"Was that really necessary", Ikaruga scolded Katsuragi in a whisper.

"What?! He reacts funny when I touch his butt", Katsuragi laughed.

The rest of them paid close attention to Kemono as he washed one dish after another. They had to retreat back into hiding as he looked to the doorway. Luckily, he didn't notice them. Kemono set one dish down after another, letting them pile right besides himself. To better check that no one else was around, Kemono began to sing to himself.

"We're a thousand miles from comfort", Kemono started. "We have traveled land and sea! But as long as you are with me, there's no place I rather be!"

The rest of the girls listened to Kemono jam on in his false privacy. He was actually pretty good when it came to singing. He wasn't exactly Adam Levine, or Eddie Vedder, but he wasn't bad.

"I would wait forever, exulted in the scene! As long as I am with you, My heart continues to beat! With every step we take, Kyoto to The Bay Strolling so casually! We're different and the same, gave you another name, switch up the batteries!"

Out of the four kunoichi watching in secret, only Katsuragi, and Hibari knew the song Kemono sang. They also knew one of the best choruses was coming up.

"If you gave me a chance I would take it! It's a shot in the dark but I'll make it! Know with all of your heart, you can't shame me! When I am with you, there's no place I rather be!"

"N-n-n-no, no, no, no place I rather be! N-n-n-no, no, no, no place I rather be! N-n-n-no, no, no, no place I rather be, oh oh", Not just Kemono, but Katsuragi followed along in whisper and silly hand dances.

"We staked out on a mission, to find our inner peace! Make it everlasting, so nothing's incomplete! It's easy being with you, Sacred simplicityyyyyyy", Kemono let the Y in that last lyric roll off of his tongue, as he fought himself to prevent dropping the glass kettle on the floor.

He was able to save the kettle, but the lid fell off. It was going to shatter...Or was it. Swooping in right before the accident, Hibari saved the tiny lid.

"Hibari", Yagyu whispered.

Katsuragi, Yagyu and Ikaruga looked to the spot where Hibari was only a split second ago. Sure enough, she was gone.

The pink haired girl handed Kemono the lid while continuing the song, "As long as we're together, There's no place I'd rather be!"

Kemono was dead frozen in place. He couldn't move, he couldn't speak, and he could barely breathe. Not only was she spying on him, she also caught him performing perhaps one of his most embarrassing secrets. Seeing how shocked he was, Hibari tried to play it smoothly and took the kettle from Kemono's shaking hand.

"With every step we take, Kyoto to The Bay Strolling so casually! We're different and the same, gave you another name, switch up the batteries", Hibari continued as she began putting away the dried dishes.

Hibari looked to Kemono, waiting for him to finish the next verse. He moved around slightly, showing that he was still alive at least. He looked away from her and continued with his chores at the sink. Hibari turned away and placed some of the plates in the cubboard. She didn't think he would go on, until she heard some whispering.

"If you gave me a chance I would take it. It's a shot in the dark but I'll make it", Kemono sang raising his voice just a little bit higher and higher with each word. "Know with all of your heart, you can't shame me! When I am with you, there's no place I rather be!"

N-n-n-no, no, no, no place I rather be! N-n-n-no, no, no, no place I rather be! N-n-n-no, no, no, no place I rather be", Both Hibari and Kemono chanted.

"When I am with you, there's no place I rather be", Kemono sang this verse alone.

He caught a glimpse of Hibari looking back at him. Yes she was young and adorable, but Kemono had to remind himself that she was still a ninja. Immediately, Kemono turned around to purposely face away from her. Yagyu was about to make her presence known and scold Kemono for being rude to Hibari. However, Ikaruga held the silver-haired kunoichi back. They all watched as Hibari coaxed Kemono on with more lyrics.

"Be, oh Be, be, be, be, be, be, be, be, be", Hibari whispered repeatedly.

Kemono knew she was a ninja, but for some odd reason, he couldn't resist not finishing this song with her. He chuckle and shook his hanging head.

"Yeah,yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah",Hibari started raising her own voice with every word.

That was the cracking point for Kemono. The boy spun on his heels and sang along with Hibari full pitch, and using his hands to go along with the rhythm of the song.

"If you gave me a chance I would take it! It's a shot in the dark but I'll make it! Know with all of your heart, you can't shame me! When I am with you, there's no place I rather be! N-n-n-no, no, no, no place I rather be! N-n-n-no, no, no, no place I rather be! N-n-n-no, no, no, no place I rather be! When I am with you, there's no place I rather be."

Kemono took in a breath of air once the song came to an end. Hibari smiled sweetly at Kemono. Not wanting another awkward moment, Hibari skipped out of the room, not saying another word. Kemono was left there to wonder, "What the heck was that?" He leaned against the kitchen sink, still in a daze, and not even sure what all of that meant.

* * *

**This chapter was pretty fun to write. The beginning, I'll say it, was pretty creepy. I wrote it late at night in the dark, and had the jitters for a while after that. It was kinda hard to explain what the red tentacle things were exactly. To get a better idea, I imagined it being something like "Carnage", from the "Spiderman" universe. Shows how creepy their enemy is gonna be, and an idea of what's in store for them.**

**Trivia time, "Who can guess the name of the song Kemono and Hibari sang?" I had heard it at school the other day and I thought, "I can work that in somehow." I probably should have had Asuka be there instead of Hibari, but I wanted to have other character interaction, and to start chipping away at Kemono's "Trust No Ninja" issues. Since he's not talking to Asuka at the moment, and Hibari seems like the most kind-hearted one, I think she would have been the first to take a crack at him. In any case, the story is still progressing, and I'll see when I can post a new chapter.**


	7. Chapter 7: Taking Care Of Business

Later in the afternoon, Kemono sat in front of the television. Sure it was only a twelve-inch screen tv, but he was watching a little close than it was safe.

"C'mon Kemono, I wanna watch Frozen", Katsuragi complained.

"My show isn't over yet", Said Kemono told her.

"You've been watching this all day", She argued.

"I'm trying to learn some new stuff here", Kemono countered. "Pipe down, it's a good part."

Katsuragi groaned, "I hate Shark Week!"

Just as Kemono became more entranced in his television series, Kiriya shut the tv off.

"Kemono", Said the sensei, "I know it's your day off, but you still have chores to do!"

Just as Kemono tried to reason with him, Kiriya cut him off.

"Button it! You haven't shown any progress in your training yet, so I want you to do as many chores as you can! Understood?!"

Kemono sighed, "Yes, Sensei."

Defeated, Kemono stood up from his spot and left to finish repairing the floors. The moment he was gone, Kiriya turned back to the others.

"And you, there are things you all need to take care of too!

Kiriya pointed to black and blonde haute girls, "Katsuragi, you and Ikaruga go to the market and buy some more nails and screws! Kemono will need them!

Kiriya then looked to Yagyu, and Hibari.

"Yagyu, Hibari, both of you get the pool cleaned! We'll need it for tomorrow's training! And Asuka!..."

Kiriya stared at Asuka, forgetting that he didn't have a plan of action for her.

"You go help Kemono! I want you all to be ready for intense training tomorrow! Understood?!"

"Yes Kiriya Sensei", Was everyone's reply.

Not even questioning why Kiriya was acting so aggressive, the kunoichi ran to their assigned task.

* * *

Now doing chores was one of the easiest things Asuka could do around here, especially if she had some help. However, doing chores with Kemono wasn't going to be an easy task. He didn't trust her, and after hearing him tell her this, she wasn't trusting him either. Nonetheless, Asuka was ordered to help her student. Just ahead of her, Kemono placed the floor boarding in one plank at a time. One was too big, and he had to cut it by hand. The kunoichi took a deep breath before marching to Kemono. The girl took about two steps before she felt something run across her foot.

The girl's gasp went unheard. The first thoughts she had were either rat, or mouse. Yet, the little creature was none of the above. Scurrying across the floor were two cute little chipmunks. They were greeted by three other chipmunks and seemed to be communicating with each other. Asuka was so intrigued that she simply had to stay and watch. After a quick break between the tiny mammals, two of them ran across the floor to the box of screws. The chipmunks grabbed a screw each as the other three drug the non-motorized screw to Kemono. The boy took the screws and drill without looking back, almost as if he knew they were helping him.

It was amazing to watch, and should have been on YouTube by now. Still, Asuka was assigned to help him and now knew how to help him. The girl took some screws from the box and knelt down behind Kemono. Seeing a new human appear, the animals reacted on instinct, and bolted for cover. As Kemono blindly reached behind to take some from the mammals, he felt a hand reach within his own and hand him the screws. Needless to say this was a surprise for him. Smiling sweetly as ever to Kemono, Asuka watched him blush and stutter.

"Uh, Hi Asuka", He said nervously.

"Hello Kemono", She told him. "I came to help you fix the flooring."

"Oh, um, th-thank you Asuka", He continued to stutter.

Kemono looked back at the floor before Asuka told him, "You can let go of my hand now."

"Right, right", He replied taking the screws and getting back to work.

After drilling, screwing, and placing a few boards into the floor, Asuka tried to stir up some conversation.

"The floor looks nice now that you've put his flooring in."

Kemono answered, "It will look better once I paint it and spray it."

Conversation ceased after that. He was only giving short answers, and she didn't know what to say to say to him. Some of the chipmunks watched what was happening. Deciding to interfere, for some reason or other, a lone chipmunk dashed for Asuka. It jumped on her back before jumping into the collar of her shirt. She laughed and giggled as it tickled her by running around her neck with it's tiny little feet.

"Stop it", She giggled to the chipmunk. "It tickles!"

Kemono looked to Asuka and watched her struggle with the tickle torture. He dropped what he was doing and knelt at Asuka's side.

"What do I do", Asked Kemono.

He didn't want to put his hands on her, and he didn't want to take her clothes off. The boy wasn't sure what to do. Before he could panic, the chipmunk left her clothes, and dove into her thick hair. Once she had calmed down a bit, she began to laugh. After a smile and a few chuckles, Kemono laughed just as much about the incident as Asuka. After a few minutes of hysterically laughing, Asuka and Kemono locked eyes again. It had unknowingly become their trademark/habit. Kemono helped Asuka up by taking her hand and pulling her into a sitting position.

"You know", Asuka began, "I know you don't trust me because I'm a ninja, but I believe in team work. I also believe in sticking together, and friendship. Just like these little chipmunks. If you're willing to give it a try, I'd like to be your friend."

Kemono was at a loss of words. It was as if he hadn't heard those words before, or at least nothing close to this. Kemono fiddled with one of the screws on the floor.

"After what I told you, you'd still want to be my friend?"

She nodded yes.

"But why", Kemono asked.

"Asuka shrugged her shoulders, "Because you're my student."

Kemono was slightly confused. Asukagrinned from ear to ear in pure joy. Kemono couldn't help smile himself. Smiling was contagious after all. It was also the first time Asuka had seen Kemono smile before. The chipmunk appeared out of Asuka's hair. She giggled while gently taking the tiny furry animal into her hands. This bold little creature let her hold it in her hands and stroke the bottom of it's belly.

"Well, I suppose if a chipmunk is willing to trust people, maybe I should start trusting people too."

Asuka was surprised indeed by Kemono's words. Asuka brought her vision from the chipmunk to her student, she got another glimpse of him smiling. She couldn't help but smile back at him. Within a matter of ten minutes, Asuka had already eased the tension between them, made him smile twice, and maybe, just maybe, opened up his heart a little more. She couldn't help but feel butterfly flutters in her heart.

* * *

Ikaruga and Katsuragi were having a difficult time choosing screws from the hardware store. It was an item they never had to pick up before. There were different sizes, types, and even colors to choose from.

"Well, I guess these will be okay for now", Ikaruga said, hoping they were the right ones.

"If they're not the right ones, we can always come back", Said Katsuragi. "Anyways..."

As Katsuragi talked on, Ikaruga partially listened to her. The two passed many shops, traffic signs, and other landmarks in the city. There was a special coffee shop close by, and sitting at one of the tables, was a teenage boy with blonde hair sipping some coffee. He had his eyes on the two of them. Ikaruga, being a trained shinobi, caught onto the gazing eyes. She turned around to where she felt the presence, but saw only an empty table. Ikaruga kept her eyes focused on the spot.

"Ikaruga? Hey what's up", Asked Katsuragi.

"Nothing", Ikaruga said after a few seconds. "Let's return hom.

The two kept moving forward back to Hanzo Academy.

* * *

Kiriya sat at his desk writing different kanji in a scroll. "You're a little rough on your students aren't you", Asked.

Kiriya said nothing. He didn't even look Daidōji in the eye.

"So what's bothering you, Sensei", She asked while brushing some of her dirty blonde hair off of her shoulder.

"It's the Mazoku", Said Kiriya.

"The Mazoku", Daidōji questioned in confusion. "I thought they were only legends from ancient times."

"I believe it's more than that", Said Kiriya. "Another school was attacked yesterday. There were no survivors."

Daidōji bit her bottom lip hearing this.

"Did they find the culprits?"

"Regrettably, no", He answered his student. "But they found this symbol at all of the crime scenes"

Kiriya Drew three tomoe circling around a tiny dot.

"It looks like a wheel to me", Daidōji said not getting the big picture.

After Kiriya made some modifications to the picture, the new drawing looked like three sixes circling around the dot. Now Daidōji could see what this truly was.

"That's..." Daidōji began.

Kiriya nodded and finished her sentence, "The mark of the beast.

Daidōji took a seat next to her sensei. This was a lot for one single person to take in. How Kiriya was able to know all this and not budge was beyond her. On the other hand, he was rather rough to his students earlier today.

"We need to train harder than we ever have", Said Kiriya. "I won't let another one of my students die at the hands of something so evil."

"None of us want to see that happen", Daidōji referred to Rin, her former kouhai. "Let me take another crack at 'em. I'm pretty sure I can make something out of those girls."

"There is one other thing", Kiriya said, bringing Daidōji's attention to him once again. "We have a new student, a boy named Kemono."

"Oh, so your training a boy now, huh Sensei?"

"By Hanzo's orders", He explained. "The boy shows promise, but no skills or talents."

"Hmm", Daidōji put her hand on her chin. "If Hanzo see something in him, there must be something there. I'd like to see what he's capable of."

"Tomorrow", Kiriya promised. "You'll see what I mean when I say, Kemono shows promise."

* * *

Deep underground in some unknown temple surrounded by black water, three orbs of light crept through the darkness. They arrived at the front of the temple before swirling into a mini tornado. The swirling energies consisted of either black, brown, or red colorings. The energy began to manifest into a human like form. Standing around in a circle was a man with crimson hair wearing a maroon red trench coat, a woman with raven black hair wearing a jet black trench coat, and finally, a man with arctic silver hair wearing a dark gray trench coat.

"Ketsueki, Kensei", The woman said. "I trust you all got at least a few more scrolls."

"You watch your mouth Kuro", The silver-haired man said to her while pulling out three scrolls from his pocket."

Kuro inspected the items closely.

"Yes, these will do nicely. What about you Ketsueki?"

The red one spoke nothing. Instead a red tentacle extended from his left hip and handed her eight scrolls at once.

"Not bad, not bad at all", She told Ketsueki while wiping some of the red slime off of her hand. "A little slimy, but not bad.

Ketsueki still said nothing. The woman took the scrolls and entered the temple, with Ketsueki and Kensei right at her sides. The woman opened a large chest, where dozens of scrolls, obtained from different ninja schools, lay waiting for them. Kuro placed the new scrolls in slots specifically for built for them.

"And how many did you find", The silver-haired Kensei questioned.

Kuro paused and chuckled, "Well, you see...The thing is, there's a lot of places to see. Especially those sweet shops. Have you ever been? It's pretty sweet..."

Just as she tried to walk away, one of Ketsueki's tentacles grabbed her shoulder. The woman paused as Kensei began to speak.

"This is the fourth time you've brought nothing back! Are you really doing your job for Maō?"

Kuro slowly removed Ketsueki's tentacle with two fingers.

"You do your part for Maō, and I'll do mine", Said Kuro. "Next time, I'll bring something good. Got it?"

Kuro pushed past both Ketsueki and Kensei. Both evil followers of Maō watched Kuro carelessly exit the temple.

"Kuro", Kensei called back to her.

Looking back to her coworkers, Kensei asked one final question.

"We of the Mazoku exist only to bring Maō back to power, and you're expected to do your part as well."

Kuro remained silent, then simply answered, "Yeah."

Nothing else needed to be said as she turned to an orb and flew off into the darkness.

* * *

**It's Shark Week! I just had to put that in there somehow! I think this is where the story is gonna start unfolding. First, we started with some bonding time between Asuka and Kemono. That was expected, but I hope it did an okay job at it. Then there's what Kiriya was talking about. As for the symbol, it was pretty hard for me to explain. If anyone has ever seen the Sharingan from Naruto, that's what I was trying to picture. I used the tomoe as sixes to give it the 666, Mark Of The Beast. Also, about Daidōji, I'm not sure how her name is written, Daidōji or Daidouji. I'm just gonna spell it Daidōji. I'm also gonna give her the dirty blonde hair in normal state, and giver her the black hair look in transformation mode.**

**Besides that, there's also the big question of who's the blonde hair boy Ikaruga keeps seeing? That will be answered before they really get into it with the Mazoku. I can't tell you just what what's going to happen. However, I can say that you won't be disappointed. I would like to thank all the people who have read, reviewed, liked, and favorite this fic so far. Honestly, I didn't think I'd get this much reception from this so fast. Thank you all! I'll write more as soon as I can.**


	8. Chapter 8: It's What The Master Says

As promised by Kiriya the day before, there was training at the pool. After changing into their respective swimwear and doing some basic swimming exercises, it was time for the real training to begin. Ahead at the doorways, a familiar repeat student slammed the doors wide open.

"Alright listen up ladies", Daidōji said in a firm voice. "From today forward, you're gonnna be so sore from training, you're gonna feel it until your in your sixties! Now all of you, line up right here on the pool edge!"

Daidōji walked down the line of girls inspecting them all like a drill sergeant. She stopped at Asuka for a moment.

"Well, if it isn't Hanzo's honored grand-daughter, Asuka", Daidōji cheered.

"It's good to see you again Daidōji", Asuka greeted with both honor and enthusiasm.

"Ha, yes it is. You have me quite a surprise last time we had a showdown! I expect a lot more from you this time!"

"Yes Daidōji, I'll do my best", Asuka said with a spark in her heart.

"Now that's the spirit!"

Finally, Daidōji came to the last, and only male if the Hanzo shinobi in training.

"So you're the new kid, fresh off the market, huh", Daidōji spoke while inspecting Kemono.

"Y-Yes", Kemono said as she looked at him a little too close for his comfort. "My name is Kemono. I've heard of your skills and power. It's an honor to meet you."

"Flattery will get you nowhere", Said Daidōji. "Now c'mon, you and Asuka are up first."

"Up first", Asked the Hanzo girl. "What for?"

* * *

Next thing Asuka and Kemono knew, they were at opposite ends of the pool waiting to battle Daidōji who stood in the middle of the pool. She remained above the surface of the pool by standing on a single pole sticking out of the water.

"This is as simple as it comes, you just gotta knock me into the water. You have ten minutes to do so. Use whatever techniques you need. The only rule is, you have to be within the pool's arena. Moving out of the arena automatically disqualifies both of you. Got that?"

"Isn't this kinda unfair", Asked Kemono. "All you're standing on is that pole."

Daidōji grinned, "Trust me, I have a pretty good chance of beating both of you on just this pole alone."

Sure there were a few other poles sticking out of the water, but she still no doubt was at a disadvantage. Kemono was a little confused by this, but it was quickly explained by Asuka.

"She's no ordinary ninja, Kemono. Daidōji is the strongest student here. She can match all six of us out together, and still have more power than us."

"She's really that strong", Kemono question in astonishment and disbelief.

Daidōji remained as cool as ever waiting for the students to make the first move. Naturally, and through victorious training, Asuka could easily leap from pillar to pillar like her spirit summon, the toad. While Kemono had so specific animal summon, he possessed many animal like feats thanks to his Animarusensu.

* * *

"Yeah, keep going Asuka", Hibari cheered. "You too Kemono!"

"Yeah, knock her off that pillar", Katsuragi yelled enthusiastically.

The other girls were pretty excited about this. Kiriya Sensei on the other hand, only waited for whatever results happened.

* * *

Kemono filled his shins, triceps, hands, and feet with Ki.

"Animarusensu: Water Spider Crawl!"

In a rapid burst of speed, Kemono ran across the water on all fours towards Daidōji.

"Wow, look a him go", Ikaruga said in surprise. "He doesn't even need any kind of flotation device."

While Daidōji kept her focus of Kemono, Asuka readied for a new sneak attack.

"_This is perfect. Now that she has her eyes on Kemono, I can get past her defenses_."

Just as Asuka came in for a flying double kick, Daidōji did the unthinkable. She grabbed Asuka by the ankle while still keeping her focus on Kemono.

"_What_", Was the only word Asuka could process in her mind.

In one swift move, Daidōji used Asuka like some human shaped bat and swung at Kemono. The impact disoriented the both of them, and thrashed them both across the pool. Daidōji inspected her nails and wiped off a pretend smudge against her chest. Asuka was the first to emerge from the water, gasping for air. Then it was Kemono who held onto the pool's edge.

"She didn't even turn away from Kemono, yet she knew where I was and how to counter us both", Asuka told Kemono.

"Your tag teaming is poor, and you lack any coordination. I thought a student was supposed to get stronger from the master, not get weaker", Daidōji mocked.

Asuka felt slightly ashamed by Daidōji's words. She learned a lot from her peers, from Kiriya Sensei, and from her grand father, but she had not really taught Kemono anything yet, and it was beginning to show. Looking back to Kemono, he wasn't looking depressed at all. He looked pretty mad.

"I'll show you weaker", Kemono barked before diving under the pool.

* * *

From the crowd, Katsuragi, Ikaruga, Hibari, and Yagyu watched what looked like Kemono retreating.

"What is he doing", Asked Yagyu.

* * *

Just below them, Kemono grabbed the pillar Daidōji stood on. He began to wiggle and move the pillar with whatever strength he could use under water. In spite of things seeming lighter underwater, this was still a thick and heavy pole to move, even for Kemono.

* * *

On the surface, Daidōji's balance began to rattle as the pillar began to roughly sway left and right. No longer feeling that this was safe, Daidōji jumped off the wooden pillar as it came splashing into the pool. In just a few seconds, this pillar began to also budge. One after another, each pillar Daidōji jumped onto came tumbling down. Now there were only five pillars left, not including the one Daidōji balanced upon. Needing air once again, Kemono appeared a few feet behind Asuka. He leaned on the pool's edge, exhausted from pushing down all the wooden poles. Daidōji's slow clapping echoed throughout the gymnasium, gathering everyone's attention.

"Bravo boy, bravo", She said. "You really drove me into a corner, taking away my means of staying out of the water. You put me at a real disadvantage...But you also put your partner at a disadvantage too!"

Kemono looked around the pool, confused by what she told him.

"Without the poles, Asuka can't use her great agility to get me! I'm close enough to these pillars that I can finished her off in one shot! Instead of taking out my advantage, you put yourselves at a disadvantage!"

Kemono had this churning feeling in his stomach. He had unknowingly made things harder than they already were. Asuka watched as he now felt gloomy like she did a few moments ago. This would mean game over for most people, but Asuka was not one to be categorized with just any people. With a smile, Asuka swam to Kemono.

"Don't worry Kemono, it's not over yet", Asuka caught Kemono's attention. "Listen..."

Asuka covered her mouth to prevent any lip-reading as she whispered into Kemono's ear.

* * *

From the crowd, Ikaruga nad Hibari began to worry about what Asuka and Kemono were going to do.

"Ikaruga, do you think they have a plan", Hibari asked.

"I-I hope so", Ikaruga said not sure if they were developing one yet.

* * *

Kemono listened intently as Asuka finished the last parts of an idea. Removing her mouth from her ear, she got her confirmation from him.

"Can you do that", Asked Asuka.

"I'll give it a try", He told his younger master.

Asuka nodded with a smile as they both faced Daidōji again.

"So you've gained a little confidence huh", Said Daidōji. "That's good, always go down with confidence!"

"Let's go Kemono", Asuka shouted to Kemono.

To any odds end, Kemono placed Asuka on his back as he swam full speed ahead. It looked like Asuka had just commanded Kemono to use Surf on some Pokémon game. Whatever it looked like, it was some unique, but odd plan set in motion.

"Attacking me head on huh, that's a very bold move", Said Daidōji.

For a split second, Kemono and Asuka dove under the water, but it was for only a moment. One of the pillars floating on the surface suddenly stood upright, with Asuka balancing at the top. It stayed upright thanks to Kemono holding it under the water, but began to topple again. Using the great amounts of splashed water as a type of smokescreen, Asuka rushed Daidōji by running across the floating wooden poles. Daidōji prepared herself, but didn't receive any head on attack.

With agility like a naturally born toad, Asuka leapt from pillar to pillar, avoiding all but Daidōji's standing pillar. Their senior began to grasp what they Asuka was doing. She wasn't just jumping from pole to pole, she was building momentum. With this extra pent-up energy, Asuka was hoping to knock down Daidōji in one go.

"Your strategy is too predictable! I can read you like a book!"

As anticipated, Asuka came at Daidōji with a full powered flying kick. As their opponent was about to counter Asuka's attack, something was off. She was attacking very low. Too low for her to hit, and too low from Asuka to strike. Instead, Asuka aimed for the pillar. With a powerful thud, Asuka cracked the wooden pillar. It shifted for a before beginning to collapse. Daidōji had no choice but to retreat onto another pillar.

"I already told you, pillar breaking won't get you anywhere!"

Asuka smiled to herself waiting for Kemono to do his job.

* * *

Just below the surface, Kemono swam at full speed. His thoughts only had one goal, and his body followed along.

_"Animarusensu: Shark Attack!"_

* * *

At the exact second Daidōji would have set foot onto the pillar, Kemono attacked with the force of a human-powered torpedo. He ran his elbow into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her, and gaining some air distance. Being so close to the pool's edge, Kemono landed roughly on the cement, but Daidōji landed completely in the water.

"He got her", Katsuragi cheered as she jumped from her sitting position.

Indeed, despite all difficulties, and disadvantages, Kemono and Asuka H2Owned Daidōji.

"We did it", Asuka cheered. "We did it!"

Kemon waved one arm in victory while laying down to catch his breath.

"You got me", Daidōji said sitting at the pool's edge and wringing out the water from her hat. "I'll give you that. But your partner disqualified both of you by landing outside of the pool ring."

All eyes turned to Kemono who sat along the cement. Once again, he dropped the ball on that one.

"She does have a point", Kiriya spoke up at last. "You also went in and attacked the pillars without thinking about your partner. In a real battle, that can get either you, or your partner killed. You possess nothing but raw power. You still don't have any strategy, nor do you have any sense of trust in your comrades."

Kemono was ashamed by the sensei's words. The stabbed at his heart worse than any sword he feared. That's when Daidōji brought the attention to herself.

"Like I said, they got me", Daidōji said as she sloppily placed her hat back on with a slosh. "That was some clever teamwork at the end you two. In my days, that counted for something. What do you say, Sensei?"

Daidōji looked to Kiriya, along with the rest of the students, in hope he would throw them a bone.

With a sigh, Keiiya said, "I guess I can call this one a draw."

Cheers and high fives went around the room amongst each other. Kemono laid flat on his back, enjoying the rest time that came with their breakeven victory.

As Asuka came to the pool's edge, Daidōji helped her out of the water.

"You've gotten stronger Asuka, I'm impressed."

"Thank you, Daidōji Sensei", Asuka slightly bowed to her.

"I must say, I'm also impressed by your good-looking student you got there", Daidōji leered at Kemono who was rolling his shoulder. "You get ALL of him to yourself. That's impressive for someone your age."

Asuka's face turned a deep strawberry red as she waved her hands in front of her, "No-No-No-No! It's not like that!"

"Really", Daidōji said not taking her eyes off of Kemono. "That's a shame. Man, If I was sixteen again..."

Before they could continue, the rest of the Hanzo shinobi gathered to congratulate Asuka, and tell them how great they were.

* * *

Again, evening was upon them. Despite Daidōji saying they would have training that would make them sore until their sixties, training was actually pretty light today. They suspected that it was because of Kemono's Shark Attack, but that idea was squashed by Daidōji's fist whenever brought up. For now, Asuka came to the kitchen for a glass of water. She thought she had enough water, because of today's pool experience. Still, water was a basic need for the body. After turning on the water, and in taking the fluids, she went back to her room.

Along the way, Kemono's room was open again. Despite it being in a different direction from her own, his room was not that far from the kitchen. Curious again, Asuka tip toed to his room. Like last time, he wasn't up to anything exciting. He was on his bed flipping the channels to his television. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Asuka.

"Asuka, come in", He motioned for her to enter.

A little embarrassed, Asuka sheepishly entered, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude."

"It's alright, I wasn't doing anything. Do you want to sit down and stay?"

"Sure, thank you", Asuka said as she sat on the bed with Kemono.

She realized a little too late that she sat on his bed when she could have sat on the chair across the room. When she thought of it more, this was the first time she had been in a boy's room. Despite what other people said, a boy's room was in fact pretty clean. Everything seemed organized and in place, besides the desk with mountains of books and animal encyclopedias. She glanced at Kemono for a moment, but retreated when he glanced at her. Neither of them payed any attention to what was going on in the television. It was Kemono who spoke next.

"I'm sorry I wasn't that much help today Asuka."

Asuka was surprised by this, but it at least got them out of that awkward moment.

"What are you talking about? You're the one who knocked Daidōji Sensei into the water."

"But I'm the one who put you at a disadvantage", Kemono continued, "Kiriya was right, I possess nothing but raw power."

As he stewed in his emotions for a little while longer, Asuka smiled and scooted a little closer to Kemono.

"You know, my grandpa told me the exact same thing."

This was a surprise to Kemono.

She looked him straight in the eye and spoke, "He told me that power must be both sword and shield. And friends too, they can be both sword and shield too."

Kemono looked at Asuka as she smiled cheerfully at him. He didn't know what it was about her, but there was something about Asuka that made everything all better. Just as conversation would have continued, Asuka took the remote from his hands, and leaned against Kemono while flipping the channels. This was a bold move that Asuka herself didn't know she made. Kemono wasn't sure what to do. A girl had never been this comfortable around him, or this close up against him. Slowly, and easily Kemono let one of his arms rest on her stomach. They didn't say too much after that. How long the two stayed like that, they did not know.

* * *

**Shark Week has come to an end, and I just HAD to put one more shark related event in there somewhere. I wanted to write another action event in here somewhere, and I had to really think out of the box on this one. However, I've been gertting some request for some...UUUHHHMMM..."NAUGHTY EVENTS", between Asuka and Kemono. To the people who want this to happen, to tell you all the truth...I'm gonna have to think about this one. First off, I'd have to change the rated content for "THOSE KIND", of events to happen. Also, I've never written anything, "LIKE THAT". Then again on the other hand, maybe it's time I tried writing something new. I worte this fic out of pure impulse, so why? If it's what the readers want, MAYBE I'll give it a try.**

**As I've said before, I want to build up a stronger bond between Asuka and Kemono. So just be a little patient with me. I'm really glad a good portion of the readers are supporting the AsukaXKemono pairing. I was really worried no one would like that. To let you all know, school starts again in four days for me, so updates will be little slower than usual. I also want to post up a new chapter to my Love Hina fic. Whatever the case, I'll keep at this fic too. I do intend to finish it, and I have big plans working up in my mind. Till next time, this is MaximalCatPossible out!**


	9. Chapter 9: Listen To what They Say

The next morning the clock on Kemono's desk struck seven. The digital device turned the radio on to Kemono's favorite morning show.

"Good morning everyone! This is "Early Bird" starting another beautiful Friday morning!"

The cheery voice on the radio began to wake both Kemono, and Asuka up from slumber. Asuka rested her head on his lap, as he leaned against the wall. After rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she began to slowly remember where she was. It took Kemono a few seconds longer to realize that Asuka had spent the night in his room.

Asuka screeched in surprise, almost knocking Kemono off of the bed. She was stuttering on her own words, struggling to piece together what happened the night before.

"I'msosorry, Imusthavefallenasleep", She said her whole sentence all in one word.

"No-No, It's Fine! It's Fine! I fell asleep myself! I Was Just So Tired I-I-I..." Kemono was daring her a bit with his confused shouts.

Immediately, she got up from Kemono's bed and bowed many times before leaving his room.

"Ihavetogetgoingnow! I'llseeyoulater! I'msosorry! I'msosorry!"

With a quick shut of the door, Kemono was left more weirded out than the night before. He flopped himself back on the bed, shutting off the television from the night before, and listening to the radio.

"I would like to remind all you boys to be careful about your women today. You may just meet the love of your life, or your worse enemy in your life."

Kemono shut off the radio hearing this. He didn't want to hear what happened next. He didn't even want to get out of bed. He took a deep breath before making his way to his closet for a new pair of clothes.

* * *

Still lost in her own thoughts, Asuka payed little attention to what the rest of the Hanzo shinobi said or did. She wasn't even phased by Katsuragi's daily pouncing on her breast.

"What's the matter Asuka", Hibari asked the thought lost girl.

Despite her timid and shy personality, Hibari was actually pretty sharp. She could pick up on the way Asuka was acting differently, and now everybody was honing in on it.

"Aw nothing, nothing at all", Asuka chuckled nervously.

At the time, Kemono made his presence known by all. He took a quick glance at Asuka, but both retreated their shy gazes. He went under the cupboard and retrieved the heavy tool box. With one more glance, Kemono left the room again. This was getting rather awkward between him and Asuka, but fixing the problem was gonna have to wait.

Kemono still had one more floor to repair, and their sensei appeared in his trademark puff of smoke. After a few coughs from the smoke, their instructions for training and exercises were given then and there.

* * *

The day's lessons continued on, with them reading old shinobi text, but Asuka was still thinking about the awkward moment she had with Kemono that morning. Why was she making a big deal out of this? All she did was fall asleep in his room. Nothing happened. Maybe it was the fact that she was laying down in his lap.

Thinking back, it was rather comfortable sleeping there. The bed was soft, his lap was warm, and his he was kind enough to let her stay there. As Asuka continued to daydream, Kiriya's shouts brought her back to reality.

"Asuka, are you listening", Kiriya scolded her.

She shook her head to relieve her thoughts, "Yes Sensei! I sorry!"

"Then perhaps you can read the last passage for us", Kiriya ordered.

After clearing her throat, Asuka read, "In ancient times the evil demon, better known as Maō, commanded his Mazoku and the army of purgatory. This massive and deadly army ravaged the lands, and brought war upon the world. With the help of the winged guardians from above, and powerful shinobi of the shadows, Maō and his army were sealed away in the depths of purgatory."

"So you were listening", Kiriya said. "Good. You all must pay attention to this passage. It could be very important to you all very soon."

"Important to us very soon", Katsuragi asked. "C'mon Sensei, that stuff is from ancient times! It's dinosaur text. You really think that's gonna matter now?"

"Don't think for a second that this doesn't concern you", Kiriya suddenly burst. "Your life may very well hang in the balance from this text!"

All the girls were taken back by their sensei. It was rare for him to lose his temper like that. Realizing what he had just done, Kiriya regained his composure.

"I'm sorry, that was unlike me. Just memorize this passage. Any knowledge can help you in some ways...You're all dismissed for the day."

* * *

By then, the shinobi took their leave and walked through the corridors in a pack.

"What was that all about", Katsuragi asked.

"Kiriya Sensei must be very stressed at the moment", Ikaruga concluded.

"I don't blame him. He's been working in secret pretty late at night, and making us train a lot more than usual", Yagyu said with a piece of fried squid in her mouth.

More thoughts were passed back and forth until they narrowly missed running into Kemono. He had his headphones in and barely noticed the five of them

"Kemono? Where are you going", Ikaruga asked noticing his different attire.

He was in simple jeans and a sweater, but the hood was thrown over his head in warm, cloudless, broad daylight.

Kemono shook his head and pointed towards the exit, "Just...Going out."

"Youre going out? Why now", Yagyu asked suspiciously.

"Kiriya Sensei gave me the rest of the day off. And I just wanted to...Go out...

Kemono left it at that before walking the other way. The girls looked at each other. It was reasonable enough that he wanted to spend his day off in his own way. However, there was something fishy about the way he worded it.

"That was pretty weird", Katsuragi said.

"It's true. There was something very suspicious the way he was acting just now", Ikaruga added. "What do you think Asuka?"

"Me? Oh don't ask me, I don't know either! Nope! Not a clue!"

Ikaruga eyed Asuka closely, "Now you're acting strange too."

A bead of sweat ran down the side of Asuka's head. Before she could be questioned anymore, Hibari tried to come up with a logical reason.

"Maybe Kemono has been stressed out like Kiriya Sensei. He's been working very hard in his training."

"Not to mention he's still repairing the building, and doing his school studies", Yagyu said.

"Hmmm, I think we should follow him", Said Katsuragi.

Asuka was the first to question this, "What?! Why?!"

"C'mon Asuka, you can't tell me you're not a little curious about him? I mean, what do we know about him? What that his mom was a ninja? He used Animarusensu? That he's five foot ten inches, and weighs 150 pounds?"

"You know his height and weight", Asked Ikaruga.

"Yeah. I know all your weight, height, and your three measurements too", Katsuragi said a little too proudly.

A few drops of sweat moved down their heads hearing this. Most likely, their perverted friend was telling the truth.

Kemono trekked through the city, crossing many street lights, passing many shops, and maneuvering around many people. All the time he never noticed the five shinobi girls keeping about ten or twelve paces behind him.

"He's no where near being a ninja", Ikaruga criticized. "Look, he hasn't looked behind his back once."

The truth was, Kemono never suspected he was being followed. All he payed attention to was listening to his music, and the direction he was going. On the other hand, it probably didn't matter. They were experts and hiding and tracking, despite the large trench coats, glasses, hats, and even mustaches they called disguises.

In any case, Kemono had yet to notice them. Walking as simply as ever, Kemono made it to a junk yard for cars, making himself more suspicious than ever. This raised even more questions from the girls. Following him through the maze of crushed cars, Kemono found a large wear house of some sort. The boy knocked on the garage door before it slid up for him, then closed after her entered.

* * *

Taking to the rooftop, the five came through the window about two stories above the ground floor. This way they could observe from the rafters without being spotted. Down below, Kemono walked around some scattered equipment and machinery. From behind him, the wheels of a skateboard caught his attention.

Turning around, Kemono was greeted by another teenage boy on a skateboard. He chuckled as he circled around Kemono.

"Lobo", Kemono said as he shook his tricep.

"You look like someone put you in the hurt box with no air holes", Lobo referred to Kemono's bruises from fighting Daidōji.

"And you look like you need a trip to the salon", Kemono ruffled his friend's fluffy black hair.

"How you doin there Kemono", A third vice came from the other end of the room.

At a work table another person, perhaps twenty five, give or take a year or two, tinkered with a small car stereo. His ashy gray hair, which hung over his forehead, didn't stray his attention from the device. However, the pair of boots flung onto the table did bother him.

"C'mon Babe, you've been at that for an hour, give it a break", A woman, close to the same age as the ash haired man said.

The man moved her boots, and legs away from his work space, "I'm almost finished. I just gotta out the finishing touches."

"You said that an hour ago", She complained.

By then, Kemono walked up to the table to join the conversation, "Hi Scarlet."

"Hey, Kemmy", Scarlet said as she huffed him. "How are you? What happened? Did someone put you in a hurt box with no air holes?"

Kemono chuckled, "It's good to see you too Scarlet. You too Omalley."

Asuka and the others watched Kemono bumped fist with the man as he continued to tamper with the radio.

"So Kemmy, what's new", Scarlet said as she sat on a torn and beat up coach, motioning for Kemono to join her.

Kemono took the seat, "Well, I just started school, that's good."

"You still playing Hermit", Omalley asked.

"No, I found a place to stay. I have to work and study, but it's a fair trade to stay."

"Good good", Scarlet said. "I was worried we'd have to tell your brother about your habits."

"His brother", Asuka asked herself.

"Don't, he has enough worries", Kemono said. "How is my brother anyways?"

"What are you asking us for", Omalley asked. "He's you're brother.

"But you and Scarlet see him more than I do", Kemono added.

"We haven't seen him since Syria", Said scarlet. "He's been kinda working under the grid since then."

"On what", Asked Kemono.

"You know we can't talk about mercenary work Kemmy", Scarlet reminded him.

"Right", Was all he replied.

While they conversed, Lobo jumped off his skateboard and grabbed onto one of the many dangling chains that came from the ceiling. He somehow wrapped it around his leg and swung back and forth.

"So Kemono, are there any cute girls where you're going to school?"

Kemono blushed and scratched a pretend itch on his arm, "Well, there's a few I guess."

"Anyone caught you're eye yet", Lobo asked while still swinging upside down.

"Aw well...", Kemono trailed off.

Now Lobo's full attention turned to Kemono. He reversed himself with ease so he was hanging right side up.

"AAAAWWWW, He Does! He Does have someone who caught his eye!"

Scarlet leaned closer to Kemono.

"Ooh, I love stuff like this! Tell us Kemono, what's she like? Is she cute? Is she nice? How old is she?"

Kemono was being bombarded with questions as the Hanzo shinobi watched from above. Yagyu began to lose interest in what they said, seeing that it was nothing exciting.

"This is getting boring. C'mon, let's leave."

"Wait, I wanna hear more about this", Asuka waved her off but didn't take her attention away from the conversation below.

"Then at least answer me this", Lobo asked. "How far have you gotten with her?"

Kemono shyly said, "Well, she DID spend the night in my room."

Asuka's face reddened like a mercury thermometer an her ears steamed out like a hot kettle.

"She spent the night in your room", Lobo asked. "What did you guys do?"

"Nothing, we fell asleep white the television on."

"Really", Lobo asked obviously disappointed. "That's really..."

"That's okay", Scarlet purposely cut off Lobo. "Nothing too fast, nothing too slow. Just next time, try to innovate something a little more exciting. Right Babe?"

Omalley removed his goggles, "Don't worry Scarlet, I have just the thing for you right now."

Omalley got up from his desk with the car stereo in hand. They watched as he walked over to a dirty, beat up, totally rusted, 1970 Plymouth Barracuda.

"You're still working on that", Kemono asked. "You've been at that piece of junk for nearly two years! What are you gonna do with that?!"

"As soon as I restore it, I'm gonna ship it out, and take Scarlet to every major landmark around the world!"

"Aw, how sweet Babe! Thank you", Scarlet cooed.

"Yeah, will that be before or after you find matching rims for all four wheels", Lobo joked.

After attaching the stereo to the car and cranking it over, with at least four attempts first, the car and radio sprung to life.

"Ha! Eat That Lobo", Omalley told off the younger boy.

Omalley switched through the radio channels, and stopped on one song.

"Oh Babe, this is our song", Scarlet said as she sat with Omalley in the car and wrapped her arms around him.

"Ours too", Lobo said as he tried to wrap his arms around Kemono.

"Get off me you weirdo", Kemono pushed Lobo away.

Lobo laughed but continued to sing along with the radio, "Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep! Dreaming about the things that we could be!"

This time Scarlet started singing the lyrics, "But baby, I've been, I've been praying hard! Said no more counting dollars, we'll be counting stars!"

Now all four of them were singing the song, "Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep, dreaming about the things that we could be! But baby, I've been, I've been praying hard! Said no more counting dollars,  
we'll be counting stars!"

Up above in the rafters, Katsuragi and Hibari couldn't help but whisper along to the song. It was pretty catchy. It didn't look like they needed to worry about much. Kemono seemed like her wasn't up to anything suspicious. It looked like he was learning things outside of their shinobi training; And maybe they were learning something from him too.

* * *

**School starts tomorrow, so I wanted to post one more chapter up before I go to school. For this chapter, I feel like it only raised more questions than progressed anything. In any case, what the girls were learning in class is very important, so remember. This chapter also let us know that Kemono does more than just the chores and training. There IS a side to him that does normal things like hang out with people.**

**Speaking of people, a lot of people have been requesting that I get boyfriends for the Hanzo girls. I'll have to think about this one too. I'm not saying I won't do it, I actually thought of this too. I just need some time so plan it all out, like what these characters will be like? Who will end up with who? And even will all of them get boyfriends?**

**Besides pairings, I'm gonna deal with some of the other things mentioned earlier on. What has been stress Kiriya? What are the Mazoku up to? What was the dream IKaruga had? What's so important about ancient text? What about Kemono's brother and this mercenary business? Why is Kemono so afraid of swords? those questions will gradually be answered.**

**On a final note, I was rather disappointed no one guessed the song Hibari and Kemono sang together. The answer was "Rather Be", by "Clean Bandit". Now, a new trivia question. Whats the name of the song on Omalley's car stereo? Can anyone guess. Till then, this is MaximalCatPossible, signing out.**


	10. Chapter 10: Boy Plus Girl Equals ?

Late in the evening time, the rest of the Hanzo shinobi decided a nice trip to the sushi bar was in order. It wasn't anything special, the food was cheap to buy, but well worth the money. As the five of them all happily munched on their meals, Hibari started conversation.

"I'm glad Kemono has good friends to spend time with him."

"Yeah, I was worried he was like that snake girl, Hikage, for a while", Katsuragi added.

"Yeah, but still, how come he didn't introduce us to them", Asuka added.

"Maybe he doesn't want to merge training and his personal life together", Said Ikaruga.

"Maybe", Asuka mumbled.

The best reason Asuka could think of was that he still didn't trust her because she was a ninja. He promise to try and be her friend, but Kemono showed little progress towards her.

As she ponder these thoughts, she mentioned, "If he does introduce us to his friends, we have to pretend we don't know them."

At that moment, a familiar boy pounced on a seat next to Asuka.

"The special today! Double the teriyaki chicken too", Lobo drummed on the table.

Asuka practically shot all the food from her mouth like a firehose. Lobo had no idea that a few hours ago, the entire band of shinobi had been spying on him. Regardless, Lobo sat next to them. He looked to Asuka, who had yet to take her always from him.

"Yo", Lobo said to her.

"Uh, hi", She managed to finally say.

Looking back to her comrades, they weren't sure what to say or do. The best option was to play it cool. Even so, it was pretty awkward for the rest of them. The only one who didn't fin anything wrong for now was Lobo. He simply kept to his meal. However, he felt eyes honing in on him. Looking back to the others, all of them were staring at him the way a dog does when someone has food.

"What's up?"

"Aw, nothing, nothing at all", Asuka said trying to keep her cool. "It's just...You look..."

"Familiar? That's no surprise, we've met before", Lobo said taking another piece of food into his mouth.

All of their jaws dropped hearing Lobo casually say they know him. Did he know they were spying on him?

Ikaruga tried to play her cards cooly, "What do you mean?"

"We go to school together. I've seen you around but you seem to just, disappear. Where do you guys go?"

Despite his nature, Lobo was actually pretty sharp. They all had to keep their ninja lives a secret, and decided not to answer the question. At least he didn't suspect they were spying on him or his friends. To avoid any suspicion it would have been better to let the conversation die right there. Yet as always, one person just couldn't let sleeping dogs lay.

"I know you", Katsuragi said as she twirled the ends of her hair. "You're name is Lobo, right?"

"Yeah. And you are", Lobo asked holding a hand out to her.

"Katsuragi", She said taking her hand.

Katsuragi shook his hand, and have it a strong squeeze. Compared to the there students, her strength was above the rest, besides Kemono and Daidōji. Still, he had a pretty strong squeeze himself. Both let go at the same time.

"You're pretty strong", Katsuragi said holding her hand.

"You too", Lobo said shaking the squeeze out of his own hand.

Katsuragi and Lobo stared back at each other for some time. It felt like there was an unknown tension building up. Asuka leaned back a little bit, and so did the others.

Lobo finally spoke, but didn't break his composure, "What are you doing this Saturday?"

"I don't know, what are you doing", Katsuragi teased, still keeping a stern face.

"I'm gonna go by the docks for some late night fishing", Said Lobo. "You want in?"

"Hmm, maybe. If my schedule isn't full", Katsuragi answered.

"So you say. I'll be on the docks at seven near the box factory", Lobo said to Katsuragi.

Lobo never took his eyes off of the blonde girl as he payed for his meal and bid farewell to the others. With that, the girls all looked to Katsuragi.

"Did you just get asked out on a date", Hibari asked.

Katsuragi grinned, "I didn't get asked out on a date! I just got challenged! I'm pumped already! I better get some training in while I still can!"

"Actually, I think you DID get asked out on a date", Asuka tried to explain.

Katsuragi didn't take Asuka or Hibari's explanation into account. She payed for her meal, not even worrying about the tip, and jumped off the stool.

"I'm gonna start my training right now! I hope this guy is strong!" As Katsuragi took off, everyone else began to follow.

"We better get home. It's getting late", Yagyu pointed out.

"You all go ahead", Asuka said ordering another bowl of food. "I'll catch up to you all later."

"Okay, but don't stay out too late", Ikaruga ordered.

"Can do!"

* * *

Once the trio left Asuka behind, the girl finished the rest of her meal before starting home herself. Along the path, she caught sight of her own student walking out of a clothes shop. He hadn't noticed her yet, and she wasn't sure if she wanted him to. She shuffled ahead of him to try and avoid his sight. Kemono still caught sight of her in any case.

"Asuka", Kemono asked looking up from his bag.

* * *

Before Asuka knew it, she was walking side by side with Kemono. He had the bag in his left hand while she walked on his right side. She wished she was on his left side, so the bag could give them some distance. Even so, he kept a certain distance between them. Yet for some reason, Asuka was still uneasy around him.

Deciding to avoid any unnecessary tension, Asuka asked, "What did you buy from the store?"

"Oh this", Kemono dug through his bag. "Today my favorite series was turned into a video game! Look, I got the limited edition, with free DLCs too!"

Kemono held up the hack and slash game with great excitement and enthusiasm. He seemed pretty happy to get his hands on it.

"Is it really that good?"

"Good?! It's great! You should come by my room and try it!"

Eating this, Asuka remembered about this morning. Her face grew a little red a she paused.

"Asuka, what's wrong? All I said was...Oh...", Kemono suddenly realized what he just said.

Now Kemono was just as embarrassed as Asuka. He tried to think of a way to fix this. Knowing himself, he would probably stumble on his words, and only make things worse. The easiest thing...Well, not easiest thing, but better thing to do first was apologize.

"Listen Asuka, I'm really sorry about this morning. I guess I just..."

"Oh, no-no-no! It's fine, it's fine", Asuka cut him off. "I'm just as sorry. I fell asleep in your room when you invited me there. I overstayed my welcome."

"No, not at all Asuka. You're more than welcome anytime you want."

"Really", She asked. "You're not weirded out by it."

Kemono shook his head no, "It's ok, Asuka. I'm ok with it f you are...Ya know, just knock first in case I'm changing. I wouldn't want you catching me in my underwear or something."

Asuka chuckled hearing that, which earned a smile from Kemono too.

"Cause trust me, I don't want you to see me in my heart patterned boxers. That's a sight no one has to see", Kemono joked.

Both boy and girl laughed from the image running through their minds. With that, the tension was lifted. They no longer felt uneasy or nervous near each other. As they kept walking, Asuka wanted to say thank you, but she felt words weren't going to be enough. She wanted to bow, or at least shake his hand. However, they still kept walking and needed to get home.

Asuka took a chance an entertained her fingers within hers. It shocked Kemono like some kind of hand buzzer. He still kept his composure as she firmly held his hand, not wanting to let to.

"Thank you, Kemono", Asuka said as she adjusted his hand into hers.

He took a look at her. As always, Asuka had that sweet, "No Evil Here", smile on her face. Kemono almost stopped in his tracks seeing her so caring. Not that it wasn't expected from her, but it was something that could make any person's heart spawn butterflies.

"_She'd make a wonderful girlfriend_", Kemono thought to himself.

The pair kept walking, not letting their hand holding bother them. Well, not Asuka at least. Kemono didn't dislike them holding hands. Her hands were smaller than his. They were also really soft, and borderline warm and cool. This would be a perfect moment, if not for two things. The first was Kemono's damn nervousness. The second, was the appearance of a threatening person.

"Hey, Big Boob Girl", A female voice called Asuka.

Asuka recognized this voice. She froze and recalled all the memories she had of this person. Turning her head, Asuka saw a girl with tanned skin, and dark brown hair tied in a long ponytail with a white ribbon. The girl had a devilish grin as she's roof on the railing of some stairs.

"H-Homura", Asuka asked as her pupils danced around in fear and warning. "What are you..."

"IT'S YOU", Asuka jumped as Kemono yelled and let go of her hand. "Treacherous Snake Girl!"

Asuka watched in confusion. As Kemono stepped on a sewer pipe lid. The lid spun in the air like a giant coin being flipped. Using both hands, he grabbed the one hundred pound lid, spun around once, and threw it like an oversized frisbee. The disk sailed at Homura with the force of a medieval guillotine.

Still, Homura was more than capable of avoiding this. The girl jumped from her perch and let the disk sail underneath her. The manhole lid embedded itself into the building wall behind her. The moment Homura landed, Kemono was already upon her.

"Animarusensu: Wolverine Claw!"

Filling his hand with Ki, Kemono slashed at Homura with no intension of going easy on her. Homura was a trained shinobi, and knew exactly how to avoid this. Kemono missed his target, and only left five gashes across the cement. Just as he was comprehending that this was an unsuccessful attack, Homura was already running down the alley.

"GET BACK HERE SNAKE GIRL", Kemono roared before chasing after her.

"Kemono wait", Asuka shouted.

Before she began pursuing, Asuka pulled out a flare device, used and seen only by other shinobi. The shot raced into the air before bursting. Upon burst, a cloud in the sky read, "Help!"

* * *

Back on earth further away Hibari was the first to notice the smoke signal.

"Hey, isn't that Asuka's flare", She said pointing to the image above.

The rest of them caught onto the message in the sky.

"You're right. Something must have happened", Ikaruga said. "Let's go."

"Eight", The groups said in unison.

Kiriya Sensei warned them about dangers lurking everywhere. It was a daily caution as a ninja, but it was particularly high this time around because of what was happening to the other shinobi schools. They had to be prepared for the worse.

* * *

In a different direction, Lobo trolled on his skateboard. He slid to a stop and removed his earphones playing music. The boy had also noticed the signal flare for help sent by Asuka.

* * *

**Alright, review time! I know I've been out of commission for a while. School just started and I'm looking for some part time work. The economy isn't exactly at its greatest right now, and I have to work around my school schedule. Plus I pulled something in my back at the GYM the other day, and I'm still recovering. But that's irrelevant to the story.**

**We pick up where we left off last time, not long after following Kemono. I gotta say, he's only been in two chapters, but I'm already attached to my Lobo OC. You'll be seeing more of him in the later chapters. However, you'll also be seeing more of Homura in later chapters too. By what I've written so far, her and Kemono are already on bad terms. That will be explained in a few chapters.**

**This chapter was mainly another prelude for what's to come. However, it DID clear up some of the tension between Asuka and Kemono. Hopefully this will open up some new doors for them...After dealing with Homura first! I have to get to class now, so I'll leave the chapter at this.**


	11. Chapter 11: Reinforcements

Homura leapt from wall to wall to reach the top of a building. Once at the top, she had a clear rooftop and some room to actually fight. However, in whatever direction she turned, she did not see her pursuer. She let some time pass before she concluded that she lost him. With a small chuckle to herself, Homura casually walked to the door for the building entrance.

Just as she reached for the handle, the metal door swung open and slammed into her. From the opposite side, Kemono angrily trudge through. This technique was better known as Animarusensu: Spider's Trapdoor. It was a technique used to let enemies walk into a supposedly safe place and perform a surprise attack with blinding speed.

Homura sat up as her vision refocused to see Kemono approaching. He was beyond mad. The shinobi needed to dodge as Kemono jumped into the air to attack from above. She was able to safely avoid Kemono, as he slammed into the ground with an ax kick strong enough to crack the cement.

"You're strong, I'll give you that", She told him. "I can't remember the last time I faced someone as powerful as you."

"You should remember", Kemono shouted. "You turned my life upside down!"

"Really", She said with a smirk. "I remember a lot of things. You on the other hand are not one of them."

Kemono was infuriated hearing this. As he prepared another Animarusensu attack, Homura transformed to her ninja attire. Kemono aborted his head on attack the moment Homura drew her swords. Now he was at a disadvantage. Not only were swords his kryptonite, he had no means to counter or block these weapons.

The best idea for anyone would have been to retreat. However, his pride and his rage were getting the better of him. Rapidly circling around her, Kemono looked for an opening in her defenses. Unless he could hit her in the blind spot, there was no real way for him to attack.

"Animarusensu: Rabbit's Foot!"

Kemono suddenly increased his speed significantly with this next attack. In the blink of an eye, Kemono hit Homura square in the cheek. She skidded backwards towards the wall. However, she didn't make impact quite yet. Still using his enhanced speed, Kemonowas grabbed her by the leg and spun her around three times before releasing her.

The ninja impacted with the wall with more force than she was thrown. Homura struggled to get back, but could still manage. She wiped some blood that dripped from her mouth.

"Is that the best you can do", Homura laughed. "I'll bet your mom can hit harder than you!"

Kemono flew to an even higher level of anger, "I'm gonna rip you apart Snake Girl!"

Kemono yelled as he charged her straight forward. Despite taking a good thrashing, Homura smirked and readied her weapons.

* * *

Not too far behind, Asuka tried to find Kemono and Homura. She had lost them only moments ago, but was still having a hard time pin pointing their location. As she raced through the alleyways, she heard a quick whooshing sound. Asuka had enough time and maneuverability to see an incoming dart.

As she dodged the flying ammo, she caught sight of two other snake girls.

"My my, isn't this a surprise", Yomi cooed as she reloaded her her wrist crossbow.

"That's too bad. I was hoping to finally take out Katsuragi", The green haired Hikage sad as she licked one of her knives.

"Yomi! Hikage! What are you doing here?"

"We're here for one of you", Yomi said. "We need a Hanzo hostage and a scroll for some leverage."

"For leverage", Asuka asked.

It was then a large girder landed near Asuka in the alley. Yomi and Hikage looked to the direction the girder came from. In the distance, Homura and Kemono clashed on the third story of a building being constructed. . He was fighting aggressively, but Homura had already sliced him in various locations.

"Kemono", Asuka yelled as she ran to him without thinking.

"You've left yourself open darling", Yomi said as she aimed her crossbow.

Asuka realized her mistake just a little too late to save herself. However, there was still time for someone else to save her. In a loud ridiculous shout, someone yelled, "BANZAIIII" All of the girls stopped as a character on a skateboard suddenly soared above Yomi. In mid flight, one of his back wheels scraped her across the face.

The character skated in a circle around Asuka before skidding to a stop. Now at her side, Asuka could clearly see the face of the one who had saved her.

"What's happenin", Lobo grinned.

"Lobo", Asuka asked.

"That's my name", He said spiraling once on his board.

"So you're name is Lobo huh", Hikage jumped from her perch. "I didn't know Hanzo shinobi were taking boys now. This is gonna be a bother."

"A bother! He's more than just a bother", Yomi yelled now with a large red wheel track running down her forehead. "He's a rude, smug, and ungentlemanlike boy who runs over ladies with his board on wheels!"

"Ouch! That's a mouthful of Anti-Lobo words", Lobo said.

Removing her attention from the the bickering, Asuka realized she had bigger problems to deal with.

"Lobo, you need to run! They're very dangerous! And Kemono is in trouble!"

"Kemono's in trouble", Lobo asked in surprise.

Lobo knew that Kemono was a very powerful person when it came to fighting and defending himself. To hear Asuka say that he was in trouble was startling for him. As Asuka knew more about this situation than him, Lobo turned to Hikage and Yomi.

"I don't know what the situation is, but you know it better than me. You go help Kemono. I got this", Lobo said to her.

"What?! Lobo, you don't understand! They're not regular girls, they're..."

"Ninjas? Yeah, I know. Which means", Lobo brought his hands together as if he was praying. "I'm gonna have to give this fight everything I have. Shinobi Transformation!"

A greenish aura surrounded Lobo. His clothes were removed, leaving him only in his boxers. This was only momentary before a new attire was provided for him. Lobo was now in a black tank top with a large green spider on his chest. There were matching black sweats, and black shoes. Each shoe had a green outlining, along with green elbow and knew pads. It also came with black MMA fighter gloves, but that wasn't the weirdest part of his outfit.

A pair of black wolf ears, and a black tail popped out of the outfit. Both ears and tail wiggled to life as if they were actually connected to his body. They matched his hair color, which made sense, unlike the cylinder green guns mounted on his hips and shoulders. Compared to the ninja transformations of either Hanzo or Snake, this was definitely one of the oddest.

"Lobo, you're a ninja too", Asuka asked.

"Please, don't tell Kemono", Lobo asked her. "I know he doesn't like ninjas."

Asuka tried to say something else, but Lobo cut her off.

"We'll talk about his afterwards! Go help Kemono! If we're dealing with ninjas, there's no telling what he'll do!"

Asuka knew Lobo had a point. She had dealt with the Crimson Girls before, an knew just how menacing they were. While Asuka didn't want to just leave Lobo here on his own, she knew Kemono would need her help too. Nodding her head, Asuka left Lobo to try and save Kemono.

"Where do you think you're going", Hikage asked as she raced after Asuka.

When Hikage was about twelve feet from reaching Asuka, she suddenly had both feet pulled right out from under her. Taking her face off the ground, Hikage looked to her boots. Attached to the back of her ankles, were two thread made of pure energy. The threads trace back to the turret like devices at Lobo's hips.

"Sorry about that", Lobo chuckled.

Silliness would have to wait for another time. Up above, Yomi was ready to chop Lobo in half like a vegetable. Lobo used the turrets on his shoulders to fire two new threads at the wall. These turrets pulled Lobo out of harm's way. As Yomi created a slicing shape in the ground, Hikage was back on her feet, and Lobo stood on all fours like an animal.

"You two must be ninjas of stupidity if you think you can beat me", Lobo teased.

"NINJAS OF STUPIDITY", Yomi shouted in outrage. "I'LL SHOW YOU!"

* * *

By then, Kemono was taking on more than he could chew. He was at a total disadvantage, and Homura was taking advantage of his weaknesses. He was heavily knocked back by Homura's swipe. He now had various slash marks in different areas. When compared to Homura, he had taken far more damage than her.

With a grin Homura said, "Is that all you can do? Sure you got some power and mean fighting skills, but that's not gonna work on a ninja. You don't have any precision, and nowhere near any defenses against a sword."

Kemono grunted as he stood on all four, "I may not be a ninja, but I don't have to be one to defeat you! Animarusensu: Prairie Dog Digger!"

By rapidly having his fingers into the ground, Kemono began to burrow into the ground at superhuman speed. Within a few seconds, Kemono had completely disappeared into the earth. Homura searched left and right, but saw no sign of Kemono.

Before she could react, the ground behind her crumbled as Kemono leapt from the earth. He pulled Homura into a neck breaking headlock. Being so close behind her, Homura had no way to attack him with her swords. She struggled and kicked in his mighty grip, but he was just too strong for her.

"You Die Here, Snake!"

In one swift motion Kemono twisted upwards, snapping her neck. Homura's body went limp in his grip. Feeling the life from her body completely disappear, Kemono let her fall from his grip. Upon impact, there was a thick thudding noise that didn't sound like a body hitting the ground. It sounded more like a pile of wood hitting the floor.

Looking closer, Kemono could see that this wasn't Homura, but a puppet. It was at that time he heard a sinister chuckle. Sitting on a ledge above was not just Homura, but Haruka, and Mirai of the Crimson Girls.

"That would have certainly been a nasty end, now wouldn't it", Haruka said in a sadistic voice.

Kemono growled at the trio before grabbing onto the walls.

"Animarusensu: Gecko Pads!"

By adding Ki to the bottom to his feet and hands, Kemono could stick to almost any surface, even glass.

"He has power, I'll give him that", Said Mirai.

The smaller girl caught sight of the fast approaching Asuka.

"Oh look, Hanzo's grand-daughter is here."

Homura now had Asuka in her sights. She unsheathed her swords again and grinned in anticipation.

"I'll handle this."

"My, my, so enthusiastic today, aren't we Homura", Haruka chuckled.

Kemono watched Homura disappear and tunnel visioned his sights to her.

"Not so fast", Kemono roared as he reached the top.

His tunnel vision got the best of him and he payed no attention to the others, something Mirai absolutely hated. Kemono hopped back as multiple bullets zoomed near his feet.

"Don't ignore me", Mirai shouted as she aimed her machine gun umbrella at Kemono.

The girl kept on firing, forcing Kemono to run and take cover behind a pile cinder blocks.

* * *

Getting closer and closer, Asuka, now in her Shinobi Transformation, ran to Kemono and nearly missed seeing Homura. The snake girl collided all six of her swords against Asuka's dual kôdachi. The impact and weight of Homura's attack sent Asuka stumbling back.

"Homura", Asuka spoke as she recovered. "What did you do to Kemono?"

"Oh I wouldn't worry about the boy. I'd worry more about yourself", Homura pointed her weapons to the Hanzo girl. "It's been a while since we last dueled. Lets make up for old time's sake."

Homura rushed her enemy straight forward, and Asuka had no choice but to face her opponent head on. Their swords connected and clashed in a flurry of swipes and slashes. Despite being smaller and not as powerful, Asuka was putting up a fight just as good, if not better than Kemono.

* * *

Still fighting in the alleyway, Lobo dodged flying knives and crossbow fire. As three knives flew past him, Lobo fired a thread from his hip turret and snagged all three of them.

"Whoopseeeeey", He said as he swung the knives around like a mace to his Hikage.

The girl parried the blades with her own knife. As he focused on Hikage, three metal orbs were thrown at Lobo by Yomi.

"Oooh, sorry bout that", Lobo said as the orbs missed him and landed at his feet.

He didn't recognize that these were explosives until it was too late. Thankfully it wasn't a lethal bomb, and was only meant to disorient an enemy. However, that was more than enough to give them an opening. Lobo watched in what appeared to him as slow motion as Yomi swung her sword to slice him in half.

It would have been a horrible way to go if not for Katsuragi's epic gravity defying corkscrew kick. Yes indeed, Katsuragi saved Lobo's life with a powerful kick to Yomi's side. The blade narrowly missed Lobo by mere centimeters. Yomi landed nicely on her feet at Hikage's side. Before, Yomi and Hikage outnumbered Lobo, but now the table had turned with the arrival of Katsuragi, Ikaruga, Hibari, and Yagyu.

"Now this is what I've been waiting for", Katsurgi boasted as she cracked her knuckles.

"Oh, it's you again", Hikage said sounding unimpressed.

"Oh look, it's the princess and her servants", Yomi said specifically to Ikaruga.

"You guys know each other too", Asked Lobo. "I didn't think all of you were ninjas."

"Us? What about you? When did you plan on telling us that you were a ninja too", Katsuragi questioned.

"Oh, yeah. I was uh, I was gonna save that one for the docks", Lobo said as he sheepishly scratched his cheek.

"Lobo, where is Asuka", Hibari asked.

"You mean the other girl with the red neckerchief? She went to go help my friend, Kemono."

"Kemono's in trouble too", Ikaruga asked. "This is bad. Lobo, Katsuragi and I will handle these two. Lead Hibari and Yagyu to Asuka and Kemono."

"What?! No way, I called dibs on these two! I have to finish this fight", Lobo argued.

"We don't have time for this", Ikaruga began.

"Dibs", Katsuragi called.

"What", Asked her comrades.

"You heard me. I call dibs on Hikage", Said Katsuragi.

"Hey! I called dibs first", Lobo argued.

"Then I call double dibs! She was my rival first!"

Lobo sighed, "Well I guess I gotta give you that one."

"Then it's decided", Said Yagyu. "We'll go look for Asuka and Kemono. Where can we find them?"

"Just follow the trail of destruction. That's how I usually find him", Lobo answered.

"Got it. We're on our way", Said Ikaruga.

"Good luck Katsuragi! Good Luck Lobo", Hibari cheered before she followed Ikaruga and Yagyu.

Katsuragi gave her a thumbs up before turning back to their double duel.

"My, my, isn't this going to be picnic. We'll have to defeat a stray shinobi, and a Hanzo shinobi", Yomi said raising her sword again.

* * *

**Now tell me people, who was expecting any of that? I originally wanted this chapter to be longer, but word wise, this was a decent place to end this chapter. Referring to earlier, I was still disappointed that not one person remembered the song that was playing on Omalley's car radio. The answer was "Counting Stars", by "One Republic". I hope more people will guess these questions later on**

**For this chapter, we see Lobo's big secret. Who would have guessed, a Wolf Spider Ninja. Even I didn't see that one coming. I know, looking at him might make Lobo seem like a cheap Spider-man knockoff, and I will admit the new "Amazing Spider-Man 2", helped inspire this character, but it was more than Spider-Man. For Lobo, I looked to the "Three Dimensional Manuever Gear" from "Attack On Titan", "Genshirou Saji" and his "Sacred Gear: Absorption Line", from Highschool DXD", "Jazz" and his "Grapple Hook", from "Transformers: Fall of Cybertron", "The Benwolf", from "Ben 10", and even "Blastoise", from "Pokemon". You'll see most likely in the next chapter what I mean when I mention all of these characters.**

**On another note, this is where the Serpent Academy will become more involved with the story. Finally, to the audience, I want to thank you all for reading and reviewing. I didn't think this story would get so many reviews in such little time. I'll do my best to update soon. In the mean time, I hope to get some more reviews on my other stories too. Have a good day, ore evening, depending where you are.**


	12. Chapter 12: Raging Battle

Lobo dodged all of Yomi's long-range attacks from her wrist crossbow, and sword slashes. He was just too agile for her. Using the line on his shoulder, Lobo grabbed her sword and pulled as hard as he could. Yomi didnt let go of the weapon as she was swung around in the air. After about three or four circles, Lobo released her into a set of trash cans.

"Ouch! You're gonna feel that in the morning", Lobo cringed.

"Yomi's dress was now stained and tattered with garbage. She removed a banana peel from her head, but was very slow in doing so. For a frightening aura was radiating from her body. This drew Hikage and Katsuragi's attention from their own battle. Katsuragi could tell Lobo had pushed her into a corner, and that was one of the worse things you could do to anyone.

"Lobo, get outta there", Katusragi yelled.

"How dare you", Yomi said standing up. "How dare you make a fool of me and look down upon me!"

Slightly lifting the bottom of her dress, Yomi flung multiple explosive devices in Lobo's direction. There was little time to react, and even less places to hide. By a hair's length, Lobo's shoulder turrets fired two zip lines, and raised him to safety. The explosion burned some of his sweats, and shoe on the left side, but other than that, Lobo was fine. However, his fight wasn't over yet. Yomi was there for another surprise attack.

* * *

As the bullets kept coming, Kemono remained hidden behind the wall. Mirai wasn't letting up on her assault, and Haruka was just living every moment of Kemono being cornered. There had to be some way for him to get past Mirai's gun. Kemono soon realized he was hiding right behind his ticket out of here. Kemono grabbed a nearby cinder block, and chucked it as hard as he could over the pile.

"You can't ignore me now, can you", Mirai laughed as she didn't let up on her firing.

"Mirai watch out", Haruka called.

The older crimson girl reacted before Mirai could. Haruka pulled her out of the way as one of the many thrown cinder blocks crushed Mirai's gun. Now the two girls had to take cover as Kemono turned the tides on them.

* * *

Asuka remained in her battle with Homura. Her enemy didn't let up on her relentless assault.

"You've gotten sloppy", Homura said as she clashed swords against Asuka.

The crimson girl forced Asuka back. Just as she tumbled in reverse, Homura caught her off guard. Reacting just in time, Asuka sidestepped to avoid Homura's sword. However, the triple blades caught Asuka's leg, nearly ruining her skirt, and leaving her with three gashed on her thigh. The wound wasn't life threatening, but it was enough to give Homura the edge in this fight.

"Like I said, you've gotten sloppy since we last fought", Said Homura.

Asuka held her bleeding leg, "Why, Homura? Why are you attacking us again? We don't have any reason to fight you anymore!"

"We still need your super secret ninja scroll", Homura told her.

"The super secret ninja scroll?! Homura, you can't take the scroll! You saw what happened when you combined it with the other scroll!"

Homura chuckled, "Fool! This isn't about combining the scroll! This is for something different, something you can't even begin to comprehend."

"What do you mean", Asuka asked now confused.

Homura gave a sadistic grin. Even now, Asuka struggled as Homura clashed her swords against Asuka's, trying to overpower the Hanzo girl.

"I said you can't comprehend it! Just like you can't comprehend that you're about to lose", Homura yelled.

* * *

Ikaruga, Hibari, and Yagyu arrived at the spot Asuka fired the signal flare. Here they found a destruction path, starting with the large manhole lid being tossed into the building.

"What happened here", Asked Ikaruga.

"This should be where Asuka fired the signal flare", Yagyu pointed out.

"Yagyu, look", Hibari pointed out.

Hibari's finger aimed at other broken debris like busted cement, sword slashes in solid stone, and other types of evidence implying a battle.

"Follow me", Ikaruga said as she dashed for the trail.

The others followed their leader in sync.

* * *

Now with an opening in their barrage, Kemono rushed Haruka and Mirai head on. He roughly pushed Haruka aside and rushed Mirai head on. With no time to respond, Kemono grabbed the barrel of her automatic gun, and flung it upwards. Before the weapon could fall to the ground, Kemono grabbed Mirai by the front on her dress and slammed her into the ground.

Mirai was pinned to the ground. Kemono didn't let up on the pressure he applied to Mirai's to Mirai's chest using his forearm. Mirai kicked and cried, but couldn't free herself from Kemono's crushing arm. Kemono pushed down on Mirai's small frame. Anymore force than this, then he could easily crush her tiny body like a soda can. Before Kemono could do anymore serious damage, a thin blue line caught his arm and pulled him backwards. Looking over his shoulder, the line of ki was connected to Haruka's fingers, much like the strings of a puppet.

Mirai gasped for air, "It took you long enough!"

"I'm sorry about that Mirai, I got careless", Said Haruka.

A second set of strings snared Kemono's other arm, forcing him away from Mirai. Kemono struggled to free himself from Haruka's puppet strings. Despite having the physical cpabilities to break many substances, he had yet to learn any techniques to break Ki.

Haruka said, "You struggle so much, like a wild animal caught in a trap."

Kemono growled at Haruka as she circled around him and stood next to Mirai.

* * *

Still in the alleyway, Lobo never forgot to dodge Yomi. The only problem was, Lobo was good at dodging things, but Yomi was good at attacking things. Dodging was only going to get him so far, and Yomi had more training compared to Lobo. It was only a matter of time before Yomi finally landed a clean attack on her target. The blonde girl raked her broadsword across Lobo's back. The attack wasn't fatal, and tore into some of his clothes and flesh. Another two or three inches, and Lobo would have been a peeled orange. Lobo landed face first into the cement.

"Aw man that bites", He yelled still face deep in the ground.

The boy leaned on his elbows as Yomi landed behind him.

"I finally got you! It took me a long time, but I finally got you", Yomi spoke. "It appears that you are the ninja of stupidity now!"

Just as Yomi was about to give the death-blow, a swift golden blur moved him out of harm's way. Yomi stared at where her sword hit the ground. The crimson girl brought her attention to the wall above her, where Katsuragi held Lobo by the back of his shirt.

"Thanks", Lobo thanked despite being suspended above the ground upside down. "That was a nice save."

Katsuragi chucked, "I can't be there to save you every time you know."

While they were safe for the time, that didn't mean their fight was over. Yomi and Hikage now had time to regroup and it was now officially a tag team fight.

"You really know how to stay alive. don't you", Hikage said licking her knife.

Lobo and Katsuragi were at a stalemate, there wasn't much they could do besides match their opponent. What's more, Hikage knew how to fight Katsuragi, and Yomi was learning rather quickly how to beat Lobo. Both willing to take a risk, Lobo asked Katsuragi something.

"Hey, think you can handle the blonde one for a moment.

"Why? You gotta plan", She asked.

"Yes...No...Maybe...We'll see", He unconfidently said to her.

Katsuragi huffed, "This had better work."

"Let's hope so. You attack first, Katsuragi.

"Ha! That's just my style", She joyfully said letting go of Lobo and leaping for Yomi.

With a strong hammer kick that easily destroyed the ground beneath them, Katsuragi aimed for Yomi. The crimson girl knew better than to get in the way of Katsuragi's attack and moved away just like Hikage. However, Hikage had other plans for her opponent.

"You're too easy to fool", Hikage said raising her knife.

Before she could harm Katsuragi, a Ki thread caught her wrist and pulled her into the air.

"Ever play Marvel vs Capcom 3", Lobo asked as he raced after her into the air.

Lobo leapt forward and performed several flying kicks into Hikage while yelling "Hiden Ninpō: Spider Barrage!" This ensnared Hikage in a series of webs. Lobo then finished her off with one final, powerful foot-stomp, sending Hikage crashing down. This was a for sure K.O. for Hikage.

"Hikage", Yomi yelled.

With no time to waste, Katsuragi sprung into action. Pulling another corkscrew kick, Yomi was thrown and pinned to the wall.

"Lobo", Katusragi yelled.

She was planning on a double team attack, in which she would need the boy's help. Lobo fired four threads of web on two sides of the alleyway. Stretching as far back as he could, Lobo readied himself like a large slingshot. Katsuragi leaned her back against Lobo's chest, making herself the ammunition of the slingshot.

"Hiden Ninpō: It's all or nothing", Lobo yelled.

Releasing his footing, Lobo flung Katsuragi forward. Poor Yomi, didn't have any way to avoid or block the Hanzo shinobi's brutally strong flying kick to the stomach. In spite of sending Yomi through the wall of the building, Yomi survived without any serious damage. Lobo leapt to Katsuragi's side as they both eyed the unconscious serpent academy girls.

"Nice kick", Lobo complemented.

"Thanks", She said. "You're pretty good yourself.

* * *

Asuka was thrown against the wall. She had nowhere to go as Homura thrust her six swords towards Asuka. With nowhere else to go, Asuka could only duck down. The three weapons penetrated the wall. Before he could retract the swords, Asuka knocked the swords out of Homura's hand with a strong front kick. Homura was now defenseless on one side.

"Hiden Ninpō: Twin Slash"

Using both of her Kôdachi, Asuka a shockwave of Ki in the formation of an X. The blow took Homura by surprise and gave Asuka the space she needed to not be caught in a corner. Asuka took some air in short breaths as Homura got back up.

"It looks like some more fight was put back in you when you were cornered", Homura smiled. "People do say a cornered animal with nothing to lose is the most wild. That makes this all the more interesting."

"It's about to get more interesting", A new voice called from around the corner.

Walking towards them, Haruka and Mirai appeared with a restrained Kemono. Two floating pillars in Kemono's blind spots. These pillars hovered in mid-air while long Ki strings held his arms and legs. They have him enough leverage to walk and struggle, but nothing more.

"Kemono", Asuka shouted.

"You got him", Asked Homura. "I didn't think you two would be able to beat him, let alone catch him so quickly.

"Snake Girl", Kemono shouted and struggled against the bindings even more. "You're the one I'm going to kill first!"

Mirai back up a little bit watching Kemono become even more furious.

"Why did you do to this guy, Homura", Mirai asked.

"Beats me", She retorted. "But he's pretty strong when he's mad. I kinda want to see what else he can do."

"Leave Kemono alone", Asuka shouted.

"Oh, getting very defensive of this boy", Haruka said as she stroked the back of Kemono's hair. "Do you care about him?"

"Yes, he's my friend", Asuka responded.

"Your friend you say", Haruka continued. "Originally we were going to take you in exchange for your Super Secret Ninja Scroll, but he'll do just nicely as our hostage, and my new puppet."

"No! I won't let you take Kemono", Asuka took another defensive pose.

"Those are some pretty bold words coming from you", Homura told Asuka. "I suppose adding one more hostage to our cell will make sure your comrades don't try anything funny."

Asuka was outnumbered three to one now. Her comrades weren't here yet, and she could also had Kemono's safety to think about.

"_This isn't good_", Asuka thought. "_If I go after Kemono now, Homura or Mirai will only counter me, and Haruka will get away with Kemono. If I go to face off Homura or Mirai, the other will help them, and Haruka will still get away. I have to deal with Haruka and free Kemono in one shot._"

Asuka looked at the pillar the strings were attached to. There appeared to be some kind of seal that attached the strings to the pillar.

"_If I can get just one shot, I can free Kemono_", Asuka imagined.

Seeing her two opponents before her, Asuka did the wild thin of charging them both straight forward.

"Going for a straight in attack? That's pretty bold of you", Homura said.

"Hiden Ninpō: Toad Summoning", Asuka yelled.

From thin air, dozens and dozens of tiny toads were upon them.

"Eeew, toads! Toads everywhere", Mirai squealed.

Distractions aside, this Ninpo served another purpose. Using the falling and jumping toads to her advantage, Asuka used one toad after another as a stepping stool. At the highest toad, Asuka took one high bound leap into the air. Using one of her Kôdachi, Asuka threw the weapon at the seal on the pillar. This ruptured the strings and gave Kemono the leverage he needed to move his arm.

The boy used his now free arm to grab Haruka by the wrist and hold her off the ground.

"No one, puts me in a corner", Kemono yelled.

"Wait no", Haruka pleaded.

Without any care for her well being, Kemono threw her as hard as he could, making her hit some kind of air conditioned. The machine was destroyed, Haruka was thrown into unconsciousness, and both of Kemono's arms were now free. In one final pull, Kemono tunnel visioned his sights on Homura.

"I'll Kill You Snake Girl", Kemono roared.

"No Kemono", Asuka yelled.

Still not in his right set of mind, Kemono attacked the Crimson Girl leader full force. His attacks still weren't connecting, but he at least had some time to rest when captured, comprehend to Homura who went toe to toe with both Kemono and Asuka before. Asuka and Mirai were frozen with fear. Mirai was too afraid to move, worrying about being on the wrong end of Kemono again. Asuka couldn't move, feeling the intensity of Kemono's power. His hate was even more hair-raising than Homura's blood thirst. Was this really the Kemono she had come to know and trust? Kemono grabbed Homura's fist. The three swords dug into the skin between his fingers, letting a small amount of blood creep down his fist.

"Arrogance fool", Homura commented as she tried to slash at him with the other swords.

"Animarusensu: Crab Vicegrip!"

Kemono gripped Homura's shoulder, his fingers grabbing under her arm pit, and his thumb digging into the top of her shoulder. Her applied as much pressure as he could to Homura's shoulder and her fist. The girl gritted her teeth in pain and frustration as he kept adding more and more pressure. He starting pushing her downwards, forcing her to her knees. Asuka watched as Homura was easily overpowered by a furious Kemono.

"Kemono stop", Asuak pleaded. "Let her go! You're going to seriously her!"

"You have no idea what this girl has done to me Asuka", Kemono yelled. "I'm going to make her pays for her crimes!"

Kemono gave Homura's shoulder one strong jerk. There was an instant snapping sound, followed by Homura's cry of pain. Kemono had mercilessly broken Homura's arm by dislocating her shoulder.

"Kemono, Stop It", Asuka pleaded as she grabbed she grabbed his forearm.

Both Kemono and Homura watched as Asuka pleaded for the mercy of her enemy.

"Asuka, she tried to kill you! And she tried to kill me too!"

"I know Kemono, but that doesn't mean you have to kill her! If you do, you'll only end up being the bad guy! Please, don't be the bad guy", Asuka tried to reason.

The boy let his eyes move left and right, as if he could find the answer in either direction. However, he wouldn't get the chance to find his answer. Unknown till the last second, a syringe was stabbed into Kemono's back. The boy roared in pain as the liquid inside suddenly drained into his body. Kemono let go of Homura to find Haruka standing right behind him. She had the empty Syringe in her hand with a devious grin.

"Haruka", Homura asked.

"I was hoping it wouldn't come to this. I was looking forward to getting a new puppet."

Kemono dropped to a knee and a fist as Haruka finished her sentence.

"Kemono", Asuka yelled as she ran to Kemono's side.

Kemono felt dizzy. His vision was slowly oozing and changing colors. On top of that, his chest felt heavy, making breathing a chore and not a reflex.

"What did you do to me", Kemono barked.

"An experimental toxin", Said Haruka. "Something I whipped up just in case."

Kemono coughed a few times. Even after less than two minutes, Asuka could see the toxin start to overtake Kemono.

"Kemono, hang on! Hang on Kemono", Asuka told him.

"You care for this boy very much, don't you", Homura said. "I was right on the dot about that one."

Asuka held onto Kemono protectively as his body began to shiver. instead of saving Kemono and giving herself the advantage, Asuka was now at a loss. Her chance to run was gone, and there was no way she could battle all of them at one time. That's when a hope of light suddenly came to her aid.

"Asuka", Hibari called.

Jumping infront of Asuka and Kemono, was Ikaruga, accompanied by Hibari and Yagyu.

"Asuka, are you alright", Ikaruga asked, but never took her eyes off of the enemy.

"I'm fine, but Kemono's been poisoned!"

Yagyu pointed her fan at her enemy, and Ikaruga unsheathed her sword.

"You", Yagyu said. "Give us the antidote for whatever you poisoned Kemono with."

"So strict", Haruka commented. "But truth be told, we don't have the antidote."

"What do you mean you don't have it", Asked Yagyu.

"You would create a poison without an antidote", Ikaruga asked.

"Oh there's an antidote, but it's gonna cost you", Said Mirai.

"What do you want", Asked Asuka, having a good idea what they wanted.

"We want your Super Secret Ninja Scroll", Said Homura.

Asuka already predicted they were after the scroll. But the events of last time still should have been fresh in their minds.

"But you saw what happened last time! There's not telling what will happen if you combine the Yin and Yang Ninja Scrolls.

"You're still as foolish as ever", Homura said.

Using her good arm, Homura opened a scroll. Out of its contents, a red snake made of pure flame began to circle around her. Snakes appeared around Mirai, Haruka, and even Hikage and Yomi still unconscious in the alley.

"We don't want to combine our scrolls. We need your scroll for something you all can't comprehend."

While the snaked surrounded an engulfed the crimson girls, they began to disappear into the flames.

"You have five days to make up your mind. In five days, your boyfriend will be a dead man", Homura said before the snake engulfed her completely.

As the last flickers of the fiery snake disappeared, so do the enemy. The Hanzo girls retracted and resheathed their weapons. The danger was gone, but their problems were just beginning.

* * *

**Hello again everyone. It's been a while. I know this was the longest wait for a new chapter, but school and job applications come first. Get in back to the writing, I was rather happy about the way these fight scenes came out. However, I felt disappointed by everything else. I feel like I didn't put in enough detail, not did I add enough dialogue. But, I made you all wait long enough, and I think this chapter delivered adequately. In this chapter, we see Kemono'a fury, more specifically towards Homura. Despite having the greater physical abilities, Kemono didn't stand a chance against the Crimson Girls.**

**"But MaximalCatPossible, how can Kemono lose to three Serpent Girls, when he could stand against all five of the Hanzo Girls? (Inevitable Review Question) The answer boils down to the characters and their personalities. The girls of Hanzo, especially Asuka, fight an opponent until they are beaten, and are willing to go that extra distance to make sure they don't seriously hurt their opponent. Unfortunately for Kemono, the Crimson Girls don't play like that. They do whatever they need to do to win, and wouldn't hesitate to maim of kill an enemy.**

**Just as importantly, Kemono's weakness and fear of swords put him at a disadvantage against Homura. Combining that with taking hits from Mirai, and Haruka, Kemono was heavily outnumbered and outgunned. Perhaps the battle would have played out differently if Lobo or someone else was there to back him up. Speaking of Lobo, I was also satisfied with him and Katsuragi's tag team fight. I know the Spider Barrage was a knock off of Spiderman's Maximum Spider, but I implied that through Lobo's dialogue.**

**It's getting late on my side, I'm going to have to call it a night now, but before I go, there are some last things I need to discuss. First, the next chapter wait will be another long one, as my homework requires a lot of attention. Also, the Ned chapter I'm going to update will be my Love Hina fic. I ask that you don't leave this fic just yet, because the supernatural enemies will appear soon, as will another ally. Finally, I've finished the basic skeleton of where I want to lead this fic, and I'm already working on the sequel to this one. So new chapters will be here soon, and a sequel will be prepared as well. Take care everyone, and hope you all have a Happy Halloween!**


	13. Chapter 13: Can't Hold Us

Kemono shivered as he covered himself with the thickest blanket Hanzo Academy had.

"How is he doing", Ikaruga asked.

"Not good their", Sensei said. "He says he feels cold, but his temperature is very high. This toxin is making him lose control of his temperature regulation."

"That's terrible", Hibari said.

"It gets worse", Said Kiriya. "His breathing is shallow, and rapid. He can't breathe right because he says his stomach hurts. I've tried asking him what else is wrong, but he hallucinates from time to time."

Asuka was the most upset out of this whole thing. She was right there with him. The enemy had coke after her, but Kemono was the one who ended up receiving the most damage. Now his life was hanging by a thread at the most.

"Sensei, is there anything we can do", Asked Ikaruga.

"I'm afraid none of our antitoxins or herbs are strong enough to counter this venom", Kiriya said.

Katsurgi stood up with her fist raised, "Then I say we go beat the living snot out of those snake girls, and get it from them!"

"We can't", Said Yagyu. "They'll be waiting for us. The only choice we have is to give them our scroll."

"We won't do that", Said Kiriya.

"What other choice do we have", Asked Asuka.

"We remain on stand by", Said the Sensei. "I'll keep digging for another antidote."

"So you're saying we should just sit down and do nothing", Katsuragi said in an angry tone.

"I expect you all to wait until we find a better way to deal with this! And that's an order", Kiriya squashed the subject. "I'm going to look into the archives for anything useful. Watch over Kemono."

With orders given to not move, and with no one to heal Kemono, it was left to the five shinobi to watch over their dying friend. Or was it?

"Everyone look, it's Lobo and his friends", Hibari said.

Sure enough, Lobo, Scarlet, and Omalley were at the front door of the building.

* * *

After a few moments, Asuka and the rest of the shinobi were outside to meet with Kemono's friends.

"Asuka, where is Kemono", Asked Lobo.

"He's", Asuka hesitated to answer. "He's really sick, Lobo."

"Well then let's get him to a hospital or something", Omalley said.

"There's nothing doctors can do for him", Said Yagyu. "We're trying everything we can to heal him."

"What about the people who attacked him? They must have a counter-drug or something", Scarlet cut it.

"They do", Said Ikaruga, "But our sensei said we can't go after it."

"You can't go after it?! Why not", Lobo thundered.

"A young man's life is at stake! How can you sit by and do nothing", Scarlet yelled.

"It's not our decision", Ikaruga said. "Those are the orders of the sensei."

"To hell with your sensei's orders! Kemono is dying in there and you're all doing nothing?! I thought Kemono was your friend", Lobo was furious.

Asuka suddenly took to the floor and bowed with her face to the ground.

"It's all my fault", She screamed. "It's my fault that Kemono got hurt! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I never wanted Kemono to get hurt! I tried my best to stop them, but Kemono was so angry, he wouldn't stop trying to fight them! I'm too weak! I wasn't strong enough to defeat them, or stop Kemono! Even now, I'm too weak to do anything! I'm sorry! I'm very sorry!"

Everyone was astonished by Asuka's actions. In the girl's eyes, it pained them to see the granddaughter of the legendary Shinobi, Hanzo, apologizing with her face to the ground. Kemono's friends would be lying if they said they weren't moved by what she was doing. On both sides, seeing Asuka crying and apologizing for not being able to protect Kemono, it showed that she cared for him very deeply.

Omalley spoke, "Let's go everyone. We're done here."

"We're done", Lobo questioned. "We're just gonna leave Kemono here without at least going to see him?!"

"Kemono's health must be left in their hands", Omalley said as they all walked away.

"But Kemono is still...", Lobo continued.

"Let's go Lobo", Omalley raised his voice.

The trio left Hanzo academy. Scarlet and Lobo couldn't help but look back one more time. Asuka looked at them with sad, watery eyes as her friends tended to her.

* * *

Back at the junkyard wear house, Lobo, Omalley, and Scarlet went back and forth with their own argument of the matter concerning Kemono.

"They're just gonna let him die, aren't they", Lobo angrily said.

"No, they wouldn't let that happen. At least not the girl with brown hair. You saw how sincere she was", Scarlet countered.

"But they're not gonna do anything for him! There's gotta be something we can do", Lobo continued.

"There is", Omalley said bringing all attention to him. "We gotta get that antidote ourselves."

"Impossible Babe", Scarlet said. "We don't even know who or where these other ninja are."

"There is one person who can find them", Omalley said.

There was some silence before Omalley have his answer.

"Ryan", Omalley stated.

"Ryan", Scarlet repeated. "Do we really need to get him involve in this."

"If anyone can find a ninja, it's Ryan", Omalley said. "And Ryan deserves to know about Kemono."

They all took a moment of silence to breathe and think. The next step to saving Kemono was obviously not going to be an easy one.

* * *

Waiting in the cave with Ketsueki, the silver-haired Kensei placed one more scroll in the chest.

After locking up the case, Kensei remarked, "That damn Kuro. She has disappeared again. I'm beginning to question her loyalty."

Ketsueki paused as he took another look around. After inspecting that Kuro was nowhere near, his attention was drawn to a cage near left of the chest. Inside the cage was a dark, beastly figure. It was suspended upside down and restrained in a straight jacket made of iron. Orange glowing eyes sparked alive and a deep growl came from the muzzled mouth of the beast. Some smoke seeped through the muzzle of this growling beast.

"Leave it", Kensei said. "That's one of Maō's trophies."

Ketsueki left the caged beast alone and left the temple with Kensei.

"Come, there is another scroll from a very powerful academy. I will take the yellow eyes. You find anymore hidden scrolls."

Ketsueki still said nothing, but acknowledged Kensei with a nod. The Mazoku transformed into colorful orbs before shooting off in their own directions. The caged beast growled again as it was left to hang in its cell.

* * *

Somewhere else in California around two in the morning, there was a very private apartment where a phone began to ring loudly. A hand lazily reached for the phone and answered in a groggy, and husky voice.

"Hello...Yeah, this is Ryan...What's wrong...Kemono? What happened..."

The voice, belonging to a 25 year old man named Ryan, began to fully awaken. He had features closely resembling Ryan, from his eyes color, hair color, and even the same look when he was worried. Ryan leaned on one elbow to sit up more and listen to the call.

"What", He asked now fully concerned. "Who did this to him?...Where are you...I'm on my way. Be on standby till I get there."

Ryan hung up the phone as a figure next to him in bed began to stir.

"What is it Ryan", The woman asked.

"They got my little brother", Ryan told her. "I need to go."

Without a second thought, Ryan threw the covers off and left for the basement. Still in his underwear, and letting his well chiseled muscles stick out, Ryan turned on the light to the basement. After pressing a special code into a keypad on the wall, the frame began to shift and open. Inside was a vault filled with weapons, neon glowing ammunition, and other high graded military equipment. Of course a third bag for clothing and necessities was taken as well.

Ryan began packing many things into two large black bags. He packed things from SMGs, to assault rifles, grenades, and a pump-action shotgun. After getting all the weapons he may need, and changing into mercenary gear, Ryan was almost ready to leave. He quietly crept to a little girls room. She was no older than six, and had silver hair like her mother.

"I have to go princess", Ryan gentle kissed her soft cheek.

The little girl stirred in her sleep, but didn't wake up. Exiting her room, Ryan started going through the front door. He turned back to the woman with silver hair. She was only wearing a pink robe, and didn't leave the house.

"Be careful Ryan", She told him before kissing him quickly on the lips.

"I will Mia", Ryan told her. "Tell Emily I said bye."

"I will Ryan", Mia told him.

Mia watched as Ryan tossed his three bags into the back of his car and sped off. As much as Ryan would have wanted to stay with Mia and Emily, his brother, Kemono, needed him now more than ever.

"_Hang on Kemono_", Ryan thought to himself.

* * *

The next day, nothing changed. Asuka still sat by Kemono's side. He faced away from Asuka, curled in a ball with all of the blankets covering him. He was still sweating a lot, and vibrated as if he was cold. Looking at him in this condition really left a spike in her heart. It left a bad feeling there, almost as bad as Lobo's words the day before.

"_Kemono is dying in there and you're all doing nothing?! I thought Kemono was your friend_", Asuka remembered Lobo yelling at her.

Indeed, Kemono was her friend, but there was nothing she could do under Kiriya's orders. Asuka looked around his room and realized yhis was the second time she was alone with Kemono in his room. But that was the least of her worries. Asuka eyed the clock on Kemono's desk. Time was ticking by slowly for her, but much quicker for Kemono. Asuka couldn't take this anymore. She couldn't sit by and do nothing any longer. Asuka took one more sad look at Kemono before leaving.

* * *

After changing into her shinobi gear and grabbing her dual kôdachi, Asuka headed for the exit. However, she was stopped by Yagyu, Ikaruga, Katsuragi, and Hibari.

"Everyone what are you all doing here", Asuka asked.

"If you think we're just gonna let you go off on your own and do something stupid, you got another thing coming", Said Yagyu.

Before Asuka could protest, Ikaruga spoke, "You're not going anywhere. Not without us."

"Ikaruga", Asuka began.

"We're friends Asuka", Hibari said. "We work together! No matter what!"

"Hibari...Thank you everyone", Said Asuka.

Katsuragi grinned like a hyena and threw her arm around Asuka's shoulder, "Yeah, it would be a shame if something happened to my groping buddy.

As always, Katsuragi had to make the moment more awkward, if not at least silly, by sexually harassing someone. Once Asuka was free from her harassment grip, Asuka still had a question.

"What do we do about Kemono?"

"I already asked Lobo to visit him", Said Ikaruga. "Him and Sensei can watch over Kemono when we're gone."

"Kiriya Sensei is going to be mad when he sees we're gone", Hibari said nervously.

"We'll worry about Sensei when we get back", Ikaruga told her. "Right now, we had to help Kemono.

"Right", Asuka said. "Let's hurry! There's no time to waste!"

Asuka was the first to take off even though Ikaruga was the one leading them.

* * *

After many train rides, and hours of traveling by foot through the forest, the shinobi of Hanzo Academy had arrived at their destination. Ahead of them was the Serpent Academy. It was different from the previous one they had infiltrated before. This was a new location, with new buildings, and new shinobi.

They watched from afar in the safety of the trees. After some surveillance, Ikaruga lead them to the side wall of the school. Here they leaned against the barrier so no one above noticed them.

"So what's the plan Ikaruga", Katsuragi asked.

"We climb the wall and take the first lookout tower. We'll split into three teams and stick to the roofs. Stay to the shadows and find the medical building. The antidote has to be there somewhere", Ikaruga went over the plan.

"Sounds good", Said Asuka. "We just have to be careful not to sound the alarm."

Asuka spoke too soon. Then and there, the alarm was sounded.

"No", Asuka pleaded with no one. "Not now!"

"They noticed us already", Katsuragi questioned. "How did they find us so quickly?"

Even more questions were raised as music started to play.

The song sang, "All right, all right ok, hah all right ok, all right ok!"

As they all looked back to one another in confusion, a hole was blown about twelve feet to their left.

"Return of the Mack, get up! What it is, what it does, what it is, what it isn't! Looking for a better way to get up out of bed, instead of getting on the internet and checking a new hit!"

Peering through the hole, the girls were awestruck by what they saw. Facing the shinobi of the Seprent Academy were three soldiers riding in a Utility Task Vehicle (UTV). The driver sped through the courtyard as the passanger took pop shots with a shotgun, and one more person sat in the bed of the vehicle, also taking shots from an assault rifle.

"We Get up! Fresh out pimp strut walking, little bit of humble, little bit of cautious! Somewhere between like Rocky and Cosby sweater gang! Nope, Nope y'all can't copy it!  
Bad, moonwalking, this here, is our party!"

Where did these guys come from", Asked Asuka.

"Who cares, they're kicking major butt", Katsuragi said. "Yeah, that's showin 'em soldier guys!"

Indeed, the three soldiers were wiping out the shinobi with ease, thanks to their vehicle and firepower.

"My posse's been on Broadway, and we did it, our way!"

"This thing rocks", The driver said. "Why don't we bring this thing all the time?!"

Hibari, being the sharpest one of the group caught onto the voice of the driver.

"That voice! That sounded like...", Hibari began.

"Grown music, I shed my skin and put my bones into everything I record to it, and yet I'm oooon! Let that stage light go and shine on down, got that Bob Barker suit game and plinko in my style!"

In spite of their superior weapons, they were at a disadvantage against the ninja's Ninpo. A large shockwave of Ki, summoned by three of the Serpent Academy students, hit the side of the vehicle. The Hanzo girls watched as the RTV flipped over on it's side. The only one to escape from this was the man in the back, who easily leapt out of the back and to safety. While the others were unharmed, as well as the radio, the vehicle was no longer drivable until they flipped it over.

"Babe, this is why I'm hesitant to let you finish your project car", The passenger with the shotgun said as she crawled out.

"Aw, I knew it", Hibari shouted. "It's Omalley and Scarlet!"

"What?! Scarlet and Omalley", Asuka asked.

"Money, stay on my craft and stick around for those pounds, But I do that to pass the torch and put on for my town! Trust me!"

Omalley heard Asuka repeat his and Scarlet's names, despite all the chaos going on around them.

"Hey, it's the Hanzo Academy girls! What are you all doing here", Omalley asked.

"Us, what about you", Katsuragi yelled back in question.

"On my I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T shoot hustler! Chasing dreams since I was 14 with the four track bossin' halfway cross that city with the backpack, fat cat, CRUSHING!"

Questions would have to wait, as three shuriken narrowly missed hitting him in the face. Before he could move, a shinobi leapt in the air above him, readying a falling sword strike. Thankfully, Scarlet gracefull saved Omalley. Of course for Scarlet, gracefully saving Omalley meant shooting her enemy point blank in the gut with a shotgun.

"Babe, get your head in the game", Scerlet scolded him and shot another student.

"Yeah", Omalley picked up one of the fallen battle rifles, and aimed through the scope.

Shot after shot, they were taking out the enemy.

"Where's Ryan", Asked Scarlet.

"Labels out here, now they can't tell me nothing, we give that to the people! Spread it across the country!"

Ryan went ahead and dashed down the halls of the academy full speed. Each opponent was taken out with his dual SMGs. Left, right, above, Ryan took them all out without letting them slow down his pace. One student in his way nearly halted him completely. Sadly for the student, Ryan somersaulted clean over the student. HE was well trained enough to shoot the student in the back before landing, and continue onwards.

"Labels out here, now they can't tell me nothing! We give it to the people! Spread it across the country!"

Somewhere in the indoor sparring room, a student interrupted the Crimson Girl's sparring for an urgent message.

"Ma'am, we are under attack", The student said as she bowed on one knee.

"So the Hanzo Academy is already here", Haruka remarked. "That was rather quick."

"No ma'am, it's not the Hanzo Academy who is attacking", Said the student.

"_What_", Pretty much everyone in the room thought.

"What do mean by it's not he Hanzo Academy attacking", Asked Homura.

"Here we go back, this is the moment, tonight is the night, we'll fight till it's over! So we put our hands up like the ceiling can't hold us! Like the ceiling can't hold us!"

Running low on shotgun ammo, Scarlet clashed her gun against a student's sword. The two fought on, trying to over power the other. Seeing his girlfriend in trouble, Omalley pulled out a hangun and shot the girl directly in the forehead.

"Thanks Babe", Scarlet said as he tossed her the handgun.

"I'm not gonna lie Scarlet, I'm really not liking ninjas right now", Omalley said as he tried to reload his battle rifle.

He wouldn't get a chance to just yet as a wave of Ki, in the shape of a snake, headed for Omalley.

"Hiden Ninpō: Phoenix Fire Blaze Flash!"

Ikaruga swung her sword, releasing a large phoenix made of fire to counter the snake Ki, therefore saving Omalley. He wasn't the only one to be saved. Yagyu opened her fan to block and deflect eight shuriken from hitting Scarlet. Now Omalley and Scarlet had a more of an advantage, they had the five students from Hanzo Academy helping them.

"Scratch that", Omalley said. "Ninjas rule!"

"Here we go back, this is the moment, tonight is the night, we'll fight till it's over! So we put our hands up like the ceiling can't hold us! Like the ceiling can't hold us!"

Ryan didn't let up as he pressed forward guns ablazing. He ceased fire for a moment as he reloaded his SMGs. There was another shinobi up ahead who would have put a momentary pause in his break in. However, Ryan was not going to let anyone slow him down. Pocketing the weapons, Ryan jumped and used his momentum to perform one of his most powerful superman punches. The student hit the back of their head on the round hard. Wether they passed out from Ryan's strike, or the collision with the floor, no one could tell. Nonetheless, Ryan pressed forward as he reloaded his weapons.

"So we put our hands up! So we put our hands up!"

It sure is getting noisy out there", Yomi said as she and the others transformed into their ninja attire.

Hikage licked her knife in the weird habit she always had, "I don't know why, but I'm rather curious about these soldiers."

Seeing as Hikage was a trained soldier before she joined the Serpent Academy, it was no wonder she wouldn't be at least a little curious about their approaching enemy.

Homura was even more curious, if not excited about their infiltrators.

"If they think they can break into our Academy and leave alive, they have another thing coming for them", Homura said with a fire in her belly.

"Let's Go! Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na! Heeeey!"

"And all my people say! Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na! Heeeey!"

"And all my people say! Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na! Wooooah!"

"Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na!"

"Ma-ckle-eh-eh-eh-eh-More!"

In the courtyard of the academy, the shinobi didn't let up on their assault. Unlike Ryan, Omalley and Scarlet couldn't infiltrate the school like he did. For now, the main focus was trying to stay alive. With the help of the Hanzo Academy students, that was getting easier and easier. Asuka and Scarlet touched back to back as they fought on.

Scarlet spoked to Asuka, "What are you doing here? I thought you weren't going to help Kemono."

"That's not true", Asuka yelled. "I want to save Kemono. I won't let him die!"

The two separated from each other to deal with certain enemies, but were soon back to back again.

"So you defied your sensei's orders", Scarlet questioned.

"Yes. Kiriya Sensei is going to be mad at me", Asuka reminded her. "But as long as Kemono is safe, that fine with me."

Scarlet glad to hear this.

"You really like Kemono, don't you?"

Despite being on a battlefield, Asuka blushed horribly, "Wait, th-that's not the reason I'm doing this! I mean, he's nice, and cute and all! But, I can't..."

Scarlet chuckled even though he was fighting on the same frontier as Asuka, "I'm glad you like Kemono. Don't worry, I won't tell your secret. But on the other hand, it's no big secret either."

Asuka let her eyes waterfall the tears out as she mumbled, "Why me?!"

These emotions would have to wait, as a battlefield had no room for emotions.

"Here we go back, this is the moment, tonight is the night, we'll fight till it's over! So we put our hands up like the ceiling can't hold us! Like the ceiling can't hold us!"

One more student entered the sparring room where the Crimson Girls waited.

"Ma'am, one of the enemies has infiltrated the academy. He is taking out our students one by one, and doesn't show any sign of stopping."

"He must be a powerful opponent", Said Mirai.

"Send whoever you can to detain as many of them as you can", Haruka ordered. "If they make it this far, they're praise worthy. We'll deal with them."

"Yes ma'am", The student said.

The line shinobi took to the rafters to do as she was told. She didn't get far when they heard her screams outside of the door. There was a temporary pause as the Crimson Girls looked to the entrance. The pause lasted until the heavy door was brutally bashed in.

"Here we go back, this is the moment, tonight is the night, we'll fight till it's over! So we put our hands up like the ceiling can't hold us! Like the ceiling can't hold us!"

The wood splintered as it was kicked in. The rest of the girls watched as Ryan walked in and reloaded his weapons with their final cartridges.

"I'll ask you all once", Ryan said sternly. "Where is the antidote to save my little brother?"

* * *

**Ok, right off the bat, who can name the song being played from the vehicle? C'mon people, this is an easy one! To be honest, I wasn't going to update this story next, let alone do it so soon. I had some free time, and the creativity just kept oozing out. Plus I like synchronizing my work around music and other songs.**

**Leaving off at a dying Ryan, I wanted to show a little of the struggle between friendship vs. ethics, or doing what you're told vs. doing what is right. I touched it lightly in this chapter, but I showed it in Asuka the most (With the hints of her having a crush on Kemono). Even as Asuka went to try and save Kemono herself (Which is ironic as she was the one to stop Yagyu from running to save Hibari by herself), her friends were there to help her out. Man, Kiriya is gonna be pissed.**

**Aside from that, there was also the matter of Ryan. Now before any of you start pointing fingers saying he's a trigger happy murderer, the weapons Ryan, Omalley, and Scarlet used were equipped with non-lethal ammo. That will be explained in the next chapter. And yes I know people are going to ask "How the hell did Ryan find and infiltrate the Serpent Academy himself. **

**There are three factors for this. One, is because he's had a great amount of training, as well as skills, and experience dealing with different scenarios, even ninjas. Second, Ryan's weapons simply outclass anything the Serpent Academy has. However, Ninpo could also be arguable for this too. Finally, the most important reason Ryan I able to defeat most of the Serpent Academy is simply because he's an angry brother. If someone poisoned my sibling and put them on their deathbed, NOTHING would stop me from getting that antidote! Not even Hell itself!**

**Speaking of Hell, I briefly mentioned Kensei and Ketsueki. They'll be making an appearance real soon, and the next chapter is where they'll start interacting with the main characters. I won't say how or what they'll do. All I can say is that it's in progress, and it will have to wait for another day. Till then, read, review, all that good stuff.**


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